Puri: The authorities of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple conducted a special inventory of the Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury) Sunday, following the standard operating procedure approved by the Odisha government, officials said.
The inventory was carried out while Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities were on their annual sojourn to the Shree Gundicha Temple as part of the Rath Yatra rituals.
The process, which had been suspended since May 23 due to various festivals at the temple, involved counting and weighing ornaments mostly used for the deities.
The jewellery had been removed from the deities during Snan Purnima last month.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said the ornaments counted during the special inventory included ‘Rahu Rekha’, gold ‘Chita’ and silver ‘Rasika’, besides other items associated with the deities.
These ornaments were counted and weighed, while the entire process was video-graphed as part of the digital documentation process, Padhee said.
He said the jewellery was identified by gemologists and experts during the exercise.
Justice (retd) Biswanath Rath, chairman of the Ratna Bhandar inspection committee, said the counting was conducted in accordance with the SOP approved by the state government.
The inventory of ornaments in the Bahar Ratna Bhandar (outer chamber) has been completed, while the counting process in the Bhitar Ratna Bhandar (inner chamber) is underway, an official said.
The next date for the inventory exercise will be announced later, he added.
