Puri, March 25 The inventory of the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri began on Wednesday after a gap of 48 years for documenting the jewelry and other valuables stored in the 12th-century shrine, officials said.
Temple priests, bank officials, gemologists, and representatives of the RBI participated in the inventory process on the first day. The resumption date will be announced later.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration's (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee said that the first day of inventory work was completed after six hours of counting, weighing, videography, photography, and 3D mapping of the valuables.
He said authorized personnel entered the temple around 11:30 am, dressed in traditional dhoti and gamchha, and the exercise commenced during the designated auspicious window between 12:09 pm and 1:45 pm.
The inventory work started exactly at 12:12 pm and ended around 6:15 pm.
"The entire inventory exercise was carried out in the presence of a magistrate and videographed," he said, adding that the exercise did not disrupt daily rituals at the shrine.
Devotees were allowed darshan from the 'Bahar Katha' (outer barricade inside the temple), while access to the 'Bhitara Katha' (inner barricade) remains restricted during the process, Padhee said.
Refusing to divulge details about the items that underwent the inventory process during the day, Padhee said that it was carried out as per the SOP framed by the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC), the highest decision-making body of the shrine, and approved by the state government.
He said all the authorized persons are prohibited from revealing the matters of Ratna Bhandar outside now.
Padhee said that the inventory is being done on three categories of storage.
The inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar, where the Lord’s ornaments and valuables have been stored for centuries, comes under Category-1, while the jewelry and ornaments only used during festivals are stored in the outer chamber and are tagged Category-2. The ornaments of daily use came under Category-3.
"Today, we have completed the inventory, photography, videography and 3D mapping of the ornaments of category-3 storage," Padhee said.
However, the ornaments now being adorned by the deities could not be counted during the day, said the IAS officer.
The next date of the inventory would be announced well in advance.
Padhee said there will be no inventory on Saturdays, Sundays and major festive days, keeping in view the large congregation of devotees on those occasions.
The chief administrator also told reporters that before entering the Ratna Bhandar, he authorised persons were told to keep metal objects like gold chains and rings outside.
They entered the treasury after checking with metal detectors.
After the end of the day's inventory, the doors of the Ratna Bhandar were closed and sealed in the presence of the magistrate. All the recording data chips of the process were kept in the strong room of the branch office of the temple in the presence of the magistrate.
Padhee said that the ornaments being counted are being matched with the 1978 list.
The last inventory, conducted between May 13 and July 23, 1978, documented 454 gold-mixed items weighing 128.38 kg and 293 silver-mixed items weighing 221.53 kg, along with several precious stones.
While the 1978 exercise took 72 days, officials said the current process will be completed faster with the use of modern technology.
Two gemologists are assisting in identification, and each item is being digitally photographed. Gold ornaments are being wrapped in yellow cloth, silver in white, and other items in red before being stored in six specially prepared chests, they said.
Meanwhile, the Puri Police made elaborate security arrangements for a smooth and secure inventory process.
“Strict access control, multi-layered security and frisking have been ensured both inside and around the temple premises,” Puri SP Prateek Singh said.
The police have positioned striking forces at two locations.
Executive magistrates, fire services, medical teams, and anti-sabotage units have also been deployed to handle any contingency.
Adequate arrangements have been made to maintain law and order and to ensure the safety of valuables throughout the entire process, police said.