Puri: Ahead of the much awaited hearing in Supreme Court in January next year, senior sevayats on Monday stressed on opening the ‘Ratna Bhandar’, the treasure trove of Lord Jagannath and his siblings at Puri Srimandir.
Senior daitapati sevayat, Binayak Dasmohapatra said,” The Ratna Bhandar should be opened and all the valuables including gold of the Lord should be tallied with previous inspection report.”
According to Dasmohapatra, the opening of the Ratna Bhandar has become necessary as it is the right of every devotee to know about the treasure of the Lord. Proper accounting has become necessary as finger of suspicion was pointed at the sevayats, he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Supreme Court recently passed directions on 22 points including appointment of a full time administrator and asked the temple management to place on record details of the valuables inside the inventory.
The next hearing is scheduled to be held in the apex court on January 8, 2020.
Meanwhile, Jitendra Kumar Sahoo, Administrator (Niti) Puri Srimandir said, “Whether Ratna Bhandar will be opened or not, it will be decided by the Temple’s Managing Committee and based on its decision, a report will also be submitted before the Supreme Court.”