Puri: Jagannath Temple Managing Committee to Recommend Govt for ASI Inspection of Ratna Bhandar

Puri: The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee will recommend the State Government to allow the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) for inspection of Ratna Bhandar of Srimandir during Ratha Yatra next year.

The Temple Managing Committee took this decision at its meeting on Friday.

Giving details about it, Puri Collector Samarth Verma said that the Managing Committee agreed to send a recommendation to the State Government to allow the ASI to conduct an inspection of the inner Ratna Bhandar during the Ratha Yatra next year.

The decision was taken after the ASI wrote a letter to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) seeking permission to conduct a survey of the Ratna Bhandar.

The ASI had also written a similar letter in 2018 seeking permission for inspection of the Ratna Bhandar during Ratha Yatra, the Puri Collector added.

A technical committee comprising members of the Managing Committee, some servitors, and members of the ASI will be formed. The committee by using modern technology like laser scanning and other survey mechanism make an external assessment of the structural condition of the Ratna Bhandar and submit a report to the Managing Committee in its next meeting.

The Managing Committee has also decided to request the State Government to form a high-level committee to be chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court or a retired Justice of High Court to supervise the entire operation of reopening and repair of the inner Ratna Bhandar, the Collector added.