Somya Panwar, Pune
A committee set up by State Government, of 11 members, on Sunday entered the inner chamber of Jagannath temple by breaking three locks for audit and inspection.
The committee led by chief administrator of Jagannath temple, Arabinda Padhee along with Biswanath Rath, Orissa High Court judge and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
A secured room with installed CCTV cameras with all the required arrangement has been prepared for the treasury to be kept. It was revealed that the presence of a total 454 Gold and 293 silver items weighing 128.38 kg and 221.53 kg respectively was stored in the inventory. The treasure was first opened in 1905 by the British administration for inspection.
The government has prepared a digital catalogue of the valuables in details such as their weight and number of items. The outer chamber of the treasury had total of 149 items, including 87 gold items and 62 silver items weighing 84.74 kg and 73.64 kg respectively while the inner chamber had 367 gold items and 231 silver items.
The architecture of the temple is designed with two chambers, inner and outer chamber known as Bahara Bhandar and Bhitara Bhandar respectively, containing the valuables.
Ratna Bhandar, well-structured inventory measured as 11.78 metres of height with a length 8.79 metres and width of 6.74 metres, has been an ancient divine place of worship and also regarded as the custodian of the valuables of the Jagannath temple. The inventory looks like a temple itself and is located adjacent to the sanctum sanctorum of the primary idols, Lord Balabadra and Devi Subadhra.
During the recent assembly elections, the treasury became a major issue of concern due to the BJP Government’s remark highlighting “disappearance” of the keys in 2018. They failed to inventorize the treasures, because of the lost keys.
It was later in BJP’s manifesto where they promised the people, an audit of the treasury and development of the inventory, if voted to power. All BJP ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Amit Shah and other members of the party raised the slogan of “Odia Asmita” (Odia pride).
After opening of the temple, the ministers shared their happiness on social media. “On the wish of Lord Jagannath, the Odia community, with the identity of ‘Odia Asmita’, has started making efforts to move forward,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) addressed the public through a post on X in Odia.