Noted sand artist and member of Shree Jagannath Temple managing Committee (SJTMC) Sudarsan Pattnaik on Friday questioned the delay over the inaction of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)’s request for inspection of the inner Ratna Bhandar (treasure house) of the 12th century shrine. In a letter to Puri royal scion Dibyasingha Deb, who is the chairman of the temple’s managing committee, Pattnaik said the ASI, the custodian of the shrine, had given a requisition on August 8, 2022 for inspection of the inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar. “Why is this matter not brought to the notice of the managing committee through agenda for discussion, as it is also a matter of safety and security? It is also a matter of concern among the devotees of Mahaprabhu,” said Pattnaik, a Padma Shri awardee. A native of Puri, who was nominated to the SJTMC in August 2021, Pattnaik said the managing committee should request the state government to open the inner Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple. “There are apprehensions among devotees about the safety of the Ratna Bhandara of Jagannath temple. The ASI had also given a requisition for inspection of the treasure. If there will be any problem relating to structural safety, the ASI can fix it after the inspection. I have requested the chairman of the managing committee to take up the issue at the committee meeting through an agenda,” Pattnaik told The Indian Express. The Puri royal scion, during his recent interviews to a section of local TV channels in Odisha, had also stressed on the urgent repair of the treasure house. The Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine has an outer and inner chamber. Though the outer chamber is opened regularly to fetch ornaments for the sibling deities during the Suna Besha (golden attire) - a key ritual during the annual Rath Yatra and other events - the inner chamber of the treasure house has not been opened for years. According to reports, the last inventory of Ratna Bhandar that contains precious jewellers was done between May 13 and July 23 in 1978. Though it was opened again on July 14, 1985, no fresh inventory was made. Though an attempt was made on April 4, 2018 to open the inner chamber for inspection by the ASI expert team following a direction from the High Court, the attempt could not succeed owing to the unavailability of keys. Inspection was done from the outside. There are demands from various sections, including servitors of the temple and devotees, to open the temple’s Ratna Bhandar. Last month, senior BJP leader and former president of party’s state unit Samir Mohanty had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Orissa High Court seeking opening of the Ratna Bhandar.
