A day after the inspection of the Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar’s outer chamber was carried out by a 16-member team on Wednesday, there was deep resentment among servitors, researchers and devotees on Thursday over the non-inspection of the inner chambers of the jewellery treasury.
After Wednesday’s inspection, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Pradeep Jena had said they have carried out inspection of the outer chamber of the Ratna Bhandar and found cracks on its roof. But the inner chambers’ inspection was carried out from outside through a small opening.
However, Puri Collector Arbind Agarwal on Thursday said they had taken five keys from the district treasury to open the Ratna Bhandar. But they did not have keys of the treasure chests of the inner chambers because it was not there in the district treasury.
Agarwal further said, “We have verified that no key was deposited in district treasury by the temple administration. Since the locks were sealed and the team examined the condition of the Ratna Bhandar, the keys were not used to open the inner chamber.
He also informed that the expert committee has suggested another inspection during the monsoon season.
However, the SJTA’s claims did not satisfy the sevayats and devotees who wondered how an assessment of the Ratna Bhandar’s condition with the help of a mere searchlight through a small opening could be done.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions including whether the team had tried to open the doors with the keys or not.
Clarification is needed over what happened during inspection,” said Gadabadu Nijog secretary Rajat Pratihari.
Amid such allegations, more questions are now cropping up whether the representatives of the Gajapati or temple administration officials had taken the right keys or the actual key is lost after the last assessment of the properties, including ornaments, in 1984IJ