Puri: The inner ratna bhandar (treasure trove) of the Puri Jagannath Temple in Odisha is set to be opened on Sunday after almost four decades. The Odisha government approved a proposal to open the bhandar, and it has been decided that the lock will be broken if it cannot be opened with the available keys. A “lock breaking group” will be part of a team comprising representatives of the temple managing committee, supervisory committee, servitors, and Puri district administration, which will enter the “Lord’s treasury” on Sunday.
The administration will take help from members of the snake helpline and medical team, who will remain on standby near the temple administration office outside the 12th-century shrine. The treasure trove contains the precious ornaments of sibling deities, Lords Jagannath and Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra, donated by devotees and erstwhile kings over centuries. The last inventory of the ratna bhandar was done in 1978, and although it was opened again in 1985, no fresh inventory was done then.
The previous BJD government unsuccessfully tried to open the treasure trove on April 4, 2018, due to missing keys, leading to state-wide outrage. The opening of the Ratna Bhandar has been a hot topic in the runup to the recently-held Assembly elections, with the now ruling BJP targeting the former Naveen Patnaik government last year over the issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that people were saying the keys of the treasure trove had been sent to Tamil Nadu during an election rally on May 20.
