Panel to inventory jewellery, precious stones in the Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri

A view of the Shree Jagannath temple at Puri. File
| Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday shaped a 12-member committee, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Arijit Pasayat, to oversee the inventory of jewelry and different precious stones stored in the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.

The Ratna Bhandar, located close to sanctum sanctorum of the temple, has totally different chambers containing gold jewelry and precious stones donated by devotees.  The final such inventory of the temple treasury was carried out 46 years in the past, when gold and silver ornaments wrapped in pink fabric have been saved in picket bins. When it was opened in 1978, the Ratna Bhandar had greater than 1.2 quintals of gold and a couple of.2 quintals of silver. In addition to this, a sizeable quantity of gold ornaments are used usually in temple rituals.

Ramakant Panda, famend heart specialist, will act as Vice-Chairman of the committee whereas Vidhu Bhushan Samal, former Chairman and Managing Director of Allahabad Bank; A. Ok. Sabat, Chartered Accountant; and Dibyasingh Deb, Chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee, Puri’s titular king, and consultant of the Archaeological Survey of India, will probably be members of the committee.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the resolution to type a high-level committee below the Chairmanship of Justice Arijit Pasayat was taken in preserving with the order of the Orissa High Court.

Despite calls for made for it, together with by the two Opposition events, the BJP and the Congress, the State authorities had appeared reluctant to open the Ratna Bhandar. Former State BJP president Sameer Mohanty had even moved the Orissa High Court. The State Congress unit campaigned extensively for the same trigger.

Earlier, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had sought the mandatory help for the inspection of the Ratna Bhandar from the Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple. The ASI had made an analogous request in 2018.