Bhubaneswar, Dec 17 (IANS): The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday began the repair and renovation work of the Ratna Bhandar or treasure trove of the Jagannath Temple at Puri.

As per the schedule, the cleaning and staging works were carried out on the first day.

“The scaffolding work of the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar was completed today. A 20-foot-high temporary platform has been set up for the repair and renovation work. Around 20 persons were engaged in the work. No work will be conducted on Wednesday owing to some special rituals of the holy triad. The de-plastering of the inner chamber will start from Thursday,” said senior ASI official, DB Garnayak.

The repair work is being carried out as per the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the state government.

The Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said the ASI has assessed that the repair and renovation work will be completed within a three-month period.

However, the government has asked the ASI to finish the work at the earliest before the three-month timeline it has sought.

He informed the media persons that the process of inventory of ornaments in the Ratna Bhandar will begin after the repair work.

It is pertinent here to mention that the Ratna Bhandar or treasury of the 12th century shrine was opened in July this year after 46 years. In the run-up to the 2024 assembly elections, the ruling BJP has made the promise to open the Ratna Bhandar and carry out the inventory of the valuables kept there.

The inventory of valuables was last carried out in 1978 which is believed to be inconclusive and incomplete.

In 2018, the team of officials who went to carry out the inventory were shocked to find out that the original keys of the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar were missing. The BJD government subsequently came into the line of fire as the opposition parties held the government responsible for the missing keys.