The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has completed the repair and conservation of the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) at the 12th century Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Hindustan Times reported.
The inventory process, however, will commence only after the Odisha government grants approval, officials said on Monday.
“By the infinite grace of the Lord, the conservation and renovation work of the Ratna Bhandar, both outer and inner, has been completed today,” said Arabinda Padhee, Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
The restoration, completed before the return of the deities on Niladri Bije, involved 333 hours of work over 95 days with the participation of 80 personnel.
“The conservation work was carried out by the ASI for about 333 hours over a period of 95 days. As many as 80 people worked to conserve the Lord’s treasury,” Padhee said.
The inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar, unopened for 46 years due to structural concerns, was accessed last year to begin the renovation.
Repair work formally began in December after a detailed structural survey.
DB Garnayak, Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI, said that the team had replaced a total of 520 damaged stone blocks and a corbel arch in the inner and outer chambers of the Ratna Bhandar.
He added that 15 damaged beams were also substituted with stainless steel beams of varying sizes. The entire renovation, he noted, was carried out using the traditional dry masonry method.
Jewellery and other valuables, 128 kg of gold and over 200 kg of silver, as per the 1978 inventory, were moved to secure temporary vaults last year and will be returned once the state clears the inventory process.
The Ratna Bhandar has remained a politically sensitive issue for years, drawing attention from opposition parties and devotees alike.
During the BJD regime, former bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian, a close aide to then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, came under scrutiny over his role in temple affairs.
He faced allegations of restricting access to the treasury and deliberately delaying a full inventory of the temple’s valuables.
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