Puri Jagannath temple administration urges ASI to start repair work of Ratna Bhandar

Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) authorities to immediately take up the repair, maintenance and conservation work of the entire Ratna Bhandar (treasury) in the 12th century shine in Puri.

SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee on Saturday said the temple administration will extend all its cooperation to ASI in the repair and maintenance of the Ratna Bhandar.

“We have received the report of the Ratna Bhandar’s GPR-GPS survey conducted by the ASI”, Padhee said.

He said the SJTA has all along been careful about the stability and security of the temple.

Earlier, the ASI had conducted the GPR-GPS survey of the 12th-century shrine’s Ratna Bhandar (treasury) with the assistance of Hyderabad-based NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute).

Padhee said the ASI has given a 45-page report on the survey. “There has been indication of damage done to the floor and wall of the Ratna Bhandar. However, the technical report needs to the studied further by our team”, he said.

Ratna Bhandar was reopened in July this year after 46 years for an inventory of valuables and the repair of its structure, officials said.