Jagannath Puri Darshan: The Jagannath temple of Puri and its gem store has always been curious for the devotees. When the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha are approaching, the discussions regarding the temple treasury have once again intensified. From Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party, people are seen protesting regarding this. The special thing is that the store has not been open for almost 3 decades.
How Much Treasure Is Inside?
Both the rooms have ornaments of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. Former Law Minister Pratap Jena had given information about the treasury in the Assembly in April 2018. He had said that 1978, there were 12 thousand 831 heavy gold ornaments in the Ratna Bhandar, studded with precious stones. There are also 22 thousand 153 silver utensils and other things—a heavy one, i.e. 11.66 kilograms.
When Was It Last Opened?
Official figures show that the Ratna Bhandar was last opened between May 13 and July 23, 19,78. The remarkable thing is that in 1985, the room opened on July 14, but the information about what was inside was not updated.
This 12th-century temple has two rooms. One is the inside store, and the other is the outside store. The outer room is now open for worship during the annual Rath Yatra. Apart from this, on many other important occasions, jewellery is taken out from the store outside, but it has been 38 years since the store inside was opened.
What Is The Process Of Opening The Rooms?
To open these, permission has to be taken from the Odisha government. After receiving instructions from the High Court, the state government tried to open the room in 2018, but the process was not completed due to a lack of a key. Then, the Archaeological Survey of India inspected outside.
What’s The Matter With The Keys?
Arvind Aggarwal, who was Puri Collector in 2018, has said there is no information regarding the keys. The remarkable thing is that the collector is responsible for the keys to the inner room. Nearly two months later, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry into the loss of the keys under the leadership of retired High Court Justice Raghubir Das. The commission had also submitted a 324-page report to the government, but its information has not been made public yet.
After ordering the investigation, on June 13, Collector Aggarwal informed that there was an envelope in the record room of the Collectorate, on which it was written ‘Duplicate keys of Ratna Bhandar inside’.
ASI Became Active Again
In August 2022, ASI sought permission to open an inside room. In this regard, a letter was also written to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, but approval has not been received yet. Despite this continuous demand, the temple management committee has already said about opening the Ratna Bhandar during Rath Yatra 2024 in August.
Political Angle
Just a few days ago, Congress had demonstrated strength in Puri and raised the issue of Ratna Bhandar. Besides, the party was also protesting on many other problems. After this, on Wednesday, a delegation led by former Odisha BJP President Samir Mohanty met the Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee, i.e. SJTMC President Gajapati Divya Singh Dev. During the meeting, a demand was made to reopen it.
