The Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri’s Jagannath Temple will be opened on Sunday after a gap of about four decades.
A high-level committee set up by the Mohan Majhi-led BJP government is going to supervise the inventory to be made of the ornaments and other valuables stored inside the Ratna Bhandar.
While the Ratna Bhandar’s outer chamber is opened regularly to fetch ornaments for the deities during the Suna Besha (golden attire) — a key ritual during the annual Rath Yatra, and also during major festivals throughout the year — the last inventory of the lords’ treasury was done in 1978. Although it was opened again in 1985, no fresh inventory was done then.
According to the rules, the approval of the state government is required for opening the Ratna Bhandar. The recently formed BJP government gave its approval in this regard on Saturday.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which looks after the maintenance of the 12th century shrine, will use the opportunity of opening of the Ratna Bhandar to carry out repairs.
“We are fully prepared for the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar on Sunday. We will strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the government in accordance with the Shree Jagannath Temple Act,” Puri district collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said.
According to a reply by former law minister Pratap Jena in the state Assembly in April 2018, in 1978 the Ratna Bhandar had 12,831 bhari (one bhari equals 11.66gm) of gold ornaments fitted with precious stones and 22,153 bhari of silver utensils, among other precious items. There were other ornaments which could not be weighed during the inventory process.
Following a direction from the Orissa High Court, the previous Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government attempted to open the Ratna Bhandar on April 4, 2018. The attempt was unsuccessful because the keys to the chamber could not be found.
In context: The reopening of the Ratna Bhandar was among the BJP’s key planks in recent Odisha polls, when the party succeeded in dislodging the Patnaik government after its five consecutive terms. Even in its poll manifesto, the BJP said it “will expedite the investigation of the missing key to the Ratna Bhandar of Shri Jagannath Mandir”.
Top BJP leaders – from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – repeatedly brought up the issue of “safety” of the Ratna Bhandar of the Puri Jagannath Temple.
Lord Jagannath is the most revered deity in Odisha. People of the state are emotionally connected to Jagannath culture. There has been resentment among a section of the people, including among the servitors of the Puri shrine, over the missing keys and concerns regarding the safety of the ornaments of the lords.
The servitors have also been demanding early opening of the Ratna Bhandar and to conduct an inventory of the jewellery. Puri royal scion Dibyasingha Deb has called for opening of the Ratna Bhandar too.
Tripura bandh
CPI(M) leader Badal Shill who was critically injured in an attack in South Tripura’s Rajnagar area died while undergoing treatment at a hospital on Saturday, the state police said.
The CPI(M), which is the main Opposition in Tripura, alleged that Shill, a zilla parishad candidate in the upcoming panchayat polls, was murdered by “BJP-backed goons”, and called for a 12-hour statewide bandh on Sunday.
SP of South Tripura Ashok Kumar Sinha said that Shill was attacked by a group of people, who were yet to be identified, on Friday evening.
Shill was attacked by a group of men with a ‘dao’ or machete, sticks and other weapons at Rajnagar market, his family alleged. He had on July 11 filed nomination papers for the panchayat elections.
CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said Shill had received severe head injuries in the attack.
“This is not the death of Badal Shill, it is the murder of democracy by the BJP. I appeal to the people to protest this brutal murder and save democracy,” he said.
Panchayat elections will be held in the state on August 8, and the votes will be counted on August 10.
Haryana Congress meeting
The Haryana Congress will hold a key meeting at Sonipat on Sunday to strategise for the state Assembly elections slated for October this year. All senior state leaders, including MPs, MLAs and former legislators, would attend this huddle.
The state Congress has hit the ground running in its campaign. On Thursday, the party filed a ‘charge sheet’ against the BJP-led state government, questioning it on the issues such as unemployment and law and order, and announced that it will launch a state-wide “Haryana Maange Hisab Abhiyan” on July 15.
As part of the campaign, Congress leaders would tour all the 90 Assembly segments in the next two months and highlight the failures of the state government, state party chief Udai Bhan told a press conference.
The Congress is buoyed by its performance in the Lok Sabha polls which saw the party winning five seats out of 10 as against the BJP’s five.
—- With PTI inputs
