Chief Administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee confirmed the completion of the first phase of the inventory exercise, which began on March 25.

Padhee stated, “The inventory process of the outer treasury of the Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri has been completed. The process began on March 25th and the second phase has concluded, and the entire Ratna Bhandar inventory is now complete.”

He added that the next phase, involving the inner Ratna Bhandar, is due to start on April 13, following the government’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). This phase will be temporarily suspended after it begins to accommodate the upcoming Chandan Yatra rituals, ensuring there is no disruption to temple activities or the devotees’ darshan.

“As per the government’s standard operating procedure, the inventory of the inner Ratna Bhandar will start from April 13th. However, due to upcoming rituals for Chandan Yatra, the inventory process will be temporarily halted during this period and will resume once the ritualistic pressure reduces, ensuring there is no adverse impact on the darshan of the deities,” Padhee explained.

Justice Biswanath Rath (Retd), Chairman of the Inspection Committee for the Ratna Bhandar, confirmed that the outer treasury work is nearing completion and expressed confidence in a smooth completion of the remaining inventory.

“The work of the outer treasury is underway. Our endeavour was to complete this work this week, which is now almost done. We will try to finish the inner treasury work now. Every item in the treasury is safe,” he said.

Previously, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had announced that the second phase of the inventory of Lord Jagannath’s ornaments from the Ratna Bhandar was planned for April 8, 9, and 10. Speaking to ANI, he explained that this enumeration covered the ornaments in the Bahar Ratna Bhandar and was expected to be completed within three days.

“The enumeration of Ratna Bhandar will start again, commencing on the 8th of this month. For the 8th, 9th, and 10th, the dates were scheduled, and I am expecting that by the end of the third day, we will be able to complete the enumeration of all the ornaments in Bahar Ratna Bhandar,” Harichandan said.

He further outlined that the ornaments would be matched against the inventory list compiled in 1978, with 3D photography and digital documentation forming part of the process.

“We will then be able to produce a proper listing of the ornaments, matching it with the list compiled in 1978. We are taking all kinds of digital photographs, including 3D photography. The nomenclature is being identified and will be properly stored for subsequent years,” he said.

The minister added that the entire exercise is expected to be completed before the Rath Yatra.