Shree Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar inventory to begin; SOP approved, two teams set
Puri(By Abhishek Mohanty):The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) is set to begin the much-awaited counting and inventory of the Ratna Bhandar.
The Odisha government-approved 14-page Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been received, outlining a detailed framework for the exercise.
Two teams — a Supervisory Team and an Executive Team — will conduct the process under the leadership of the Chief Administrator. The Temple Management Committee will finalize the start date, but counting will not take place on ritual-heavy days.
From today until Niladri Bije, there are 135 days available, but nearly 100 days are ruled out due to temple rituals, leaving only 24 days to complete the inventory.
The exercise will involve six SBI panel-listed jewellers, one gemologist, and two RBI officials.
According to SJTA Chief Arabinda Padhee, two expert photographers will document the proceedings, and all records will be digitally preserved.
The last inventory in 1978 took 72 days. This time, the current findings will be cross-checked with the 1978 records, but there will be no valuation of the valuables.
