Puri, July 6: Amid devotees' increasing eagerness to know about valuables in Jagannath Temple's Ratna Bhandar, the newly constituted 16-member Ratna Bhanda committee headed by Justice Biswanath Rath Thursday held its first meeting and discussed various issues on the opening of the treasure house and making an inventory of the ornaments kept in it.

The next meeting was scheduled for July 9, the day after Shree Gundicha Yatra, to decide a date for the opening of the Ratna Bhandar.

"Papers were submitted at the meeting. It was learned that duplicate keys are in the treasury. We have scheduled the next meeting on July 9. The keys will be produced before the committee on July 9. A date to open the lock will be decided on that day," said Justice Rath.

He said If the lock is not opened with the available keys, due to rust, the committee will issue an SOP seeking the Government's permission to break the lock.

"It happens that iron locks get rusted if not opened for decades. If it is marked in case of the Ratna Bhandar lock, we will issue to the SOP seeking government permission to break it," Justice Rath clarified further.

The panel head said the temple's chief administrator has assured the committee to get the SOP approved by the government.
"We hope the SOP will be available on July 9," said Justice Rath.

The temple management committee will choose people to count the ornaments and valuables. This committee will also be responsible for keeping valuables safe during the repair work of the inner Ratna Bhandar.

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