Inventory, valuation of ornaments of Puri Srimandir deities to begin soon!

In a major drive for Puri Jagannath Temple’s security and heritage preservation efforts, the presiding deities’ valuable ornaments have been successfully shifted from a temporary treasury (Asthayi Bhandar) to the permanent Ratna Bhandar inside the shrine.

Also Read: Puri Srimandir deities’ ornaments to be shifted to Ratna Bhandar on Sept 23

However, inventory and valuation (Ganati-Manati) of the Lords’ ornaments will likely be carried out soon, Ratna Bhandar Monitoring Committee Chairman Justice Biswanath Rath informed on Wednesday.

With the physical transfer now complete, only the counting and documentation process remains. This next phase is crucial to ensure that each piece of jewellery, many of which are of immense historical and religious significance, is properly catalogued and verified.

Justice Biswanath Rath confirmed that preparations are underway for this sensitive task. “We are following a strict procedural framework to carry out the counting in a secure and transparent manner,” he stated.

The shifting process will be conducted under tight security, CCTV surveillance, and expert supervision, involving temple officials, government representatives, jewellery experts, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Focus will be on ensuring no discrepancies and maintaining utmost transparency during the audit.

This is part of a larger effort to restore, preserve, and safeguard the Srimandir's invaluable treasures.

“As per the SoP (standard operating procedure), the Jagannath temple managing committee will decide a date for Ganati-Manati, and will intimate about the decided date to the State government. After the Government approves the date, the process of inventorisation will accordingly begin,” Justice Rath said to OTV.

“All other modalities needed before the Ganati-Manati were completed yesterday. I hope the SJTA meeting will be convened soon,” Justice Rath stated when contacted.