Demand for opening of Puri Srimandir Ratna Bhandar gathers steam 

The demand for the opening of Puri Srimandir treasure trove, the Ratna Bhandar gathered steam after Puri king Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb along with Chhattisgarh governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and several senior servitors expressed concerns over the physical condition of the treasure trove of the 12th Century shrine.

In an exclusive interview with OTV, the Gajapati Maharaja, the first servitor of Lord Jagannath at Srimandir expressed his displeasure citing that the Odisha government is dragging its feet to reopen the Ratna Bhandar even after demands from all quarters. 

“Cracks have emerged in the inner wall of the Ratna Bhandar and rainwater percolates through them,” said Puri king while demanding an early repair of the treasure trove.

Furthermore, the Puri King said, “We believe all ornaments inside Ratna Bhandar are safe. There is a clear mention in the Act that the inventory of ornaments kept in the Ratna Bhandar should be taken. But this has not been done.”

“The temple managing committee has already requested the State government to reopen the Ratna Bhandar for repair work. Now, the decision lies with the government,” the Gajapati added.

The debate over the stability and safety of Ratna Bhandar is not new as the demand for its immediate repair gained pace after a 16-member team, including experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), inspected the structure in April 2018 and reported its condition to be weak.

It is pertinent to mention that following a directive of the Orissa High Court on March 22, 2018, an attempt was made to open the inner chambers of Ratna Bhandar on April 4, 2018. However, the Ratna Bhandar could not be opened as the keys were reported to be missing. Hence, the team carried out an inspection from outside and reported that the physical condition of Ratna Bhandar to be weak.

The demand for the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar further intensified after the ASI, on  August 8, 2022, wrote to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Law Department and the ASI DG to open the ‘Bhitara Ratna Bhandar’ (inner chamber) of Puri Srimandir mentioning three beams and plasters are in the bad shape.

Yesterday, Chhattisgarh Governor, Biswabhusan Harichandan also expressed concerns over the physical condition of the treasure trove and demanded its early repair.

“The disappearance of keys is really unfortunate. But the Ratna Bhandar should be reopened and counting of ornaments should be done,” Harichandan said.

In June 2018, following widespread public outcry over the disappearance of Ratna Bhandar keys, the Odisha government formed a commission headed by Justice Raghubir Das, a retired judge of Orissa High Court, to probe the matter. 

Later in December 2018, the commission submitted a 324-page report to the Home Department. However, the government is yet to make the report public.

It is worthwhile to mention here that while hearing a petition filed by Puri-based social worker Dillip Baral seeking direction to make the report of Justice Raghubir Das Commission of Inquiry public, in April 2023, the court had directed Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and Law Secretary to submit its response in connection with the matter on July 10, 2023.

Meanwhile, a fresh war of words between the political parties has ensued over the matter.

“The Odisha government is trying to evade two main issues- whether the ornaments in the Ratna Bhandar are safe and the structure of the chamber needs repair. If the government does not provide a clear picture on these, then this will trigger a massive public outrage,” said Pitambar Acharya, BJP leader. 

“There is an urgent need to reopen and repair the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir. Besides, there is a need to make an inventory of ornaments,” said senior Congress Leader Narasingha Mishra.

Commenting on the development, BJD MLA Prafulla Samal said, “Necessary steps are being taken by the government and the concerned department to safeguard the Ratna Bhandar.”