Puri (Odisha)

Till now, the inventory of all items listed in the Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple has matched the list of 1978, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Chief Administrator of the temple, said on Monday.

The Chief Administrator told ANI that the inventory (counting) of the outer treasury, Chalanti Bhandar and the Bahara Ratna Bhandar, was completed, and the counting of the inner Ratna Bhandar is underway.

Padhee said, "The inventorisation of the Ratna Bhandar started on March 25, and in the meantime, we have already completed the inventorisation of the Chalanti Bhandar and the Bahara Ratna Bhandar, the outer treasury of the Shree Jagannath Temple. The inventorisation of the inner Ratna Bhandar has also already begun. It is halfway through. And till now we have noticed that the inventory of all the items listed in 1978. They're all matching till date, and we wish to express our gratitude to all the members and all the authorised members of the handling team and the supervisory team."

"We are going for a very transparent and a very fair process. The entire proceedings are being video recorded. There is CCTV surveillance. There is the presence of the Executive Magistrate when we open the seals and the locks. So we wish and pray that the balance work will also go smoothly," he added.

Earlier, on April 6, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan announced that the second phase of the inventory (counting) of Lord Jagannath's ornaments from the outer Ratna Bhandar. The second phase was scheduled for April 8, 9, and 10.

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The ornaments are being matched against the inventory list compiled in 1978, with 3D photography and digital documentation.

According to the rules and practices of the temple, the gold and the jewels offered to Lord Jagannath Mahaprabhu are to be stored in this Ratna Bhandar.