The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is planning to start fixing the treasure room, called ‘Ratna Bhandar’, at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, on December 16. An official named D. B. Garnaik announced this on Sunday.
Before the repairs can begin, the ASI has asked for approval from the temple’s management committee. “Once we get the green light, we will start on December 16,” Garnaik said.
Earlier, the ASI worked with a science team from Hyderabad to survey the 12th-century temple using advanced tools. They finished their report just last month. Any repairs will follow recommendations from this report.
The ‘Ratna Bhandar’ repair plans will also be discussed at a meeting of temple workers called ‘Chhatisa Nijoga’ on December 10, according to Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan added that the state government aims to finish counting the jewelry kept in two temporary treasure rooms by the end of January. He said, “We have asked the ASI to finish the repairs quickly. After that, we will move the jewelry back into the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ from the temporary rooms and do the inventory.”
Notably, the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ was opened this past July after being closed for 46 years to check the valuables and fix its structure.
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