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Puri: The Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha, which is famous all over the country, was opened after 46 years. Donations including money and jewellery were collected in this storehouse for so many years. Six pallets of five feet long and two and a half feet high were ordered to carry it. The donations were filled in this bag and taken to a safe place. The amount of donations collected in 46 years is estimated to be crores of rupees. People have been donating gold in this temple. At present, only donations have been collected, the total value of which will be calculated after the approval of the government.
On Monday afternoon at 1.28 pm, as per the auspicious time, the Ratna Bhandar of the famous 12th century Jagannath temple was opened in the presence of former Odisha High Court judge Vishwanath Rath, temple chief administrator Arabinda Padhi, ASI superintendent DB Gadnayak and Gajapati Maharaj, representatives of the then rulers of Puri. Earlier, an attempt was made to open this Ratna Bhandar six years ago but the 17-member team returned after not getting the keys. After which there was a lot of politics in the state on the claim of losing the keys, in the recently held assembly elections, BJD and BJP made this Ratna treasure an election issue.
Last year, the Odisha High Court put an end to the dispute and ordered the opening of the Ratna Bhandaar, following which the former Patnaik government formed a committee for the purpose, which also included a former High Court judge. Under the supervision of this committee, the Ratna Bhandaar of the temple was finally opened on Monday after 46 years, however everyone was surprised to see the money and jewellery stored there after so many years. All the donations are packed in six strong boxes and sealed in the strong room.
According to a media report, when the second door of the Ratna Bhandar was opened, Puri SP Pinak Mishra was also present, he fell unconscious near the Ratna Bhandar. Although no explanation has been given as to why he fainted, doctors are currently treating him. Before the opening of the Ratna Bhandar, a large number of security forces were deployed for security outside and inside the temple. At this time a large number of people had gathered outside the temple. The Ratna Bhandar of this temple was last opened in 1978, after which it was never opened, so the amount of donations taken out from it is likely to be in crores.
