Bhubaneswar: All things remaining equal, the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Jagannath temple will be upgraded into a strongroom equipped with advanced security gadgets. Old sanduks (wooden and metal boxes) in which invaluable gems and jewels have been stashed are likely to be replaced with iron chests akin to the ones used in banks, a temple official has said.
The newly formed BJP govt has begun preparations and consultations with stakeholders to conduct an inventory of Ratna Bhandar which was last conducted in 1978.The opening of Ratna Bhandar and disclosure of an inquiry report into its missing keys was a key poll promise of BJP. The date of the inventory has not been finalised yet.

The Ratna Bhandar room, which is around 12 metres high and 9×7 metre wide (one wall around 9 metre wide and another 7 metres), is located on the northern side of Jagamohan (a hall) near the sanctum sanctorum. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), temple officials and servitors already expressed concern over the structural weakness and cracks on walls of the divine treasure trove.
“When the govt opens Ratna Bhandar, the ASI’s immediate step would be to repair and renovate it. While the modalities for the proposed audit of the gold, silver and other articles are being finalised, plans are on to purchase chests to preserve the jewellery. We are unsure of the present condition of the jewellery in the wooden boxes,” a temple official said. According to Durga Dasmohapatra, a servitor and member of the temple managing committee, safety of the jewellery would be accorded top priority. “We will propose to the govt to adopt the latest safety standards in Ratna Bhandar,” Dasmohapatra said.
According to the plan, the inventory of Ratna Bhandar articles may be carried out amid tight security after the completion of the daily darshan at night. The last inventory was completed in 70 days from May 13, 1978 to July 23, 1978. The govt is planning to rope in some jewellery valuers from the state and outside to carry out the proposed inventory. In the absence of the keys of Ratna Bhandar, the govt may break its double locks, sources in the temple said.
Controversy shrouded Ratna Bhandar after its keys were found missing on April 4, 2018, when the govt tried to open it for a physical examination of the structure. Subsequently, the unexpected emergence of a set of duplicate keys added fuel to the controversy. Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik constituted a judicial commission headed by retired Justice Raghubir Das to probe into the missing key issue.