Puri Jagannath temple's Ratna Bhandar to be reopened at 1.28 pm

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will unlock the Ratna Bhandar, the revered treasury of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri, on Sunday after 46 years for an inventory of the ornaments and other valuables, an official said.

The treasury was last opened in 1978.

"The Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath temple will be reopened today at 1.28 pm," said Justice Biswanath Rath, the chairman of the committee formed by the state government to supervise the inventory of valuables in the treasury.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee held in Puri, he said.

Members of the committee, including Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, will visit the treasury after the reopening, he added.

The place where the valuables will be kept temporarily has also been identified, said the former Orissa HC judge.