Puri: Puri Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar is safe, and one should not worry about it, Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Ranjan Das, said on Saturday.
When asked about the status of the special committee the Orissa High Court ordered to form, SJTA chief Das said the matter would be discussed in the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee meeting, and the High Court would be informed about the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar and the inventory of ornaments.
“The matter would be discussed, and a decision would be taken in the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee meeting. The Ratna Bhandar is safe, and people shouldn’t worry about it,” Das informed.
Managing committee member Madhab Mohapatra also said that they will discuss and decide about the formation of the special committee in the next meeting.
Meanwhile, the state government dragging its feet on reopening the Ratna Bhandar is not going down well with the devotees.
Earlier, the SJTA informed the Orissa High Court through an affidavit that one and a half quintals (149 kg, 460 grams) of gold and 184 kg of silver ornaments are still in the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir.
The affidavit stated that Ratna Bhandara was last opened in the year 1978. The inventory of the Ratna Bhandara, including all the gold and silver jewelry pieces, was counted during that time. The exact amount of ornaments are still in the treasury, it added.
The administration further stated that there are 3.480 kg of gold and 300 kg 503 grams of silver jewelry in the Chalanti Bhandara. These ornaments are used during different rituals of the deities.
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