Bhubaneswar, Nov 2: The Odisha government is set to release a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting an inventory of the ornaments and other valuables kept in the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan announced the move on Saturday, stating, “The state government has initiated the process for preparing an inventory of ornaments at the Ratna Bhandar of the Puri Jagannath Temple. The inventory will be carried out inside the treasury itself, and a detailed SOP for the procedure will be issued shortly.”

Harichandan explained that the exercise had been postponed due to the large influx of devotees visiting the shrine during the holy month of Kartika.

“The process will be expedited once the month of Kartika concludes on November 5,” he added.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) completed the repair and restoration work of the Ratna Bhandar in July this year. Before the renovation began, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had safely relocated the ornaments and valuables from both the inner and outer chambers of the treasury to two secure rooms within the temple premises.

After the renovation was completed, the ornaments and other precious items belonging to the presiding deities were returned to the restored Ratna Bhandar on September 23.

It may be recalled that the state government had last year constituted a 16-member committee, headed by former Orissa High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath, to oversee the opening of the Ratna Bhandar and the preparation of an inventory of its valuables.