Dismissing allegation of deliberate delay in opening the treasury, he said: “Both inner and outer Ratna Bhandar are located adjacent to Srimandir Jagmohan. Any repair work by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the inner portion will disrupt darshan of deities.”

In August last year, the managing committee of temple had recommended the state government to allow ASI to inspect the inner Ratna Bhandar (inner vault) during Rath Yatra next year for ascertaining its structural stability. However, no decision has been taken regarding inventory of precious jewellery stored inside it.

This followed a letter from the ASI, seeking permission to examine and conserve the Ratna Bhandar. The national conservation agency had also written similar letters in 2018 and 2022.

In 2018, ASI’s technical expert committee had inspected Ratna Bhandar from outside and had mentioned about the structure being in a dilapidated condition with seepage from walls, dislocation of some stones and weakening of plaster at some places as observed from the hollow sound on tapping the surface.

Multiple PILs were filed at the Orissa High Court, seeking a direction to the state government to take steps for opening of Ratna Bhandar. In September, the HC directed the state government to constitute a high-level committee, if the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) approaches it, for supervising the process of inventory of the valuables stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine.

According to official sources, the last inventory of the Ratna Bhandar was made between May 13 and July 23, 1978. Though it was opened again on July 14, 1985, the inventory was not updated.

As per the notification issued by the Home department, 1,083 posts in different ranks will be created for the special battalion. The Battalion would function under the command and control of Puri SP.

With creation of the Special Security Battalion, 139 posts of APR Force created earlier under Singhdwar police station for safety and security of Jagannath Temple are abolished, the department stated in the notification.

The newly created posts will be filled up as per the provisions of relevant recruitment rules and the ORV Act. Besides, in-principle approval has been issued for outsourcing various services of Group D staff for the Battalion.

Reviewing the project during a visit to Puri, Jena said after completion of all works, the project will be handed over the temple administration and the police department will take over the security of the area by January 14.

In order to facilitate the visitors, coming from different parts of the country and outside, to witness the inauguration of the Parikram project on January 17, arrangements will be made on the roof of the buildings on both sides of the Bada Danda (Grand Road).

“The district collector has already written to different mutts and owners of the buildings including Duduwala Dharmasala, Bagedia Dharmasala, State Bank of India, Radhaballav Mutt, Pratihar Nijo office and information centre at Singhadwar (Lions Gate),” he added.

The chief secretary further said the facilities for public convenience including drinking water supply and toilets will be completed in the project area before the inauguration. The entire town will be under security blanket to prevent any untoward incident.

For the vehicles that will come to the Pilgrim Town on the day, he said the new parking place at Samanga will be used.

Jena said Prachar Rath (promotional vehicles) will move in every panchayat in the district from Saturday. The process of collecting rice and betel nuts will also start for use during the rituals on the inauguration day.

Police ADG (Law and Order), Sanjay Kumar, who accompanied Jena, said adequate security measures will be taken for the visitors as well as the VIPs and hassle-free darshan for the devotees on the inauguration day.

Basant Pati, member of Ram Mandir Nirman Trust, told the media that the traditional invitation card along with symbolic accompaniments including rice, coconut and betelnuts were offered to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra inside the temple.

The Lords have been invited to attend the inauguration of the Shri Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and consecration of the idols in January 22.

Pati also requested the people of Odisha to celebrate the day by organising community puja, recitation of ‘Sundar Kand’ and ‘Hanuman Chalisha’ and lighting at least 5 lamps in their local temples on the day.

The day should be celebrated in a grand way like celebration of Diwali amid religious fervour to recall the festive atmosphere in Ayodhya on the return of Lord Ram, Pati said.

As per the revised schedule decided by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the darshan of sibling deities will be closed at 11 pm on Sunday. The ‘Pahada’ ritual of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be performed at this time in the closed doors.

The doors of the 12th century shrine will reopen to facilitate darshan by the devotees at 1 am on New Year Day on Monday. Then the morning rituals of the deities will be performed in presence of the devotees.

From the New Year, the dress code and other restrictions will come into force inside the temple. As announced by the SJTA earlier, the visitors will have to wear decent outfits to enter the temple.

Male devotees should wear traditional attire, pants and shirts, while female devotees should come wearing sarees and salwar suits. Those coming in half pants, ripped jeans, and sleeveless shirts will not be allowed into the shrine.

Similarly, use of polythene bags to carry anything and chewing paan and tobacco have been banned from the day.

Meanwhile, the district administration has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate smooth darshan by the devotees and ensure their security on the New Year Day.

The chief minister approved the proposal after discussion with the stakeholders based on the feedback given by 5T and Nabin Odisha chairman VK Pandian.

It was pointed out during the discussion that Jagannath temple draws thousands of devotees every day. In the post-COVID period, the daily footfall of devotees was estimated to be about 50,000. It doubles and triples during the weekends and on important religious occasions.

The temple is expected to witness substantial increase in flow of devotees after dedication of the Heritage Corridor Project – Srimandir Parikrama Prakalp to the public.

Considering these, the Special Security Battalion would be formed. The new battalion would have around 1190 personnel and would be placed under the command and control of Puri SP.

It would have the primary responsibility of providing full-proof security to the temple. Its personnel will be specially trained for better crowd management and devotee facilitation for ensuring a hassle-free and orderly darshan by them.

Chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Ranjan Das said this while speaking to media persons in Puri on Friday. The darshan of the deities in the temple by the Divyangs was discussed at the meeting of Niti Sub-Committee on the day, he added.

He said a special ramp will be constructed under the heritage corridor project to enable the physically challenged devotees to enter the temple. The arrangement will be made at north gate of the temple and opened to the devotees after inauguration of the project on January 17, 2024.

“A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be made for the Divyangs keeping the tradition and practices of the temple in view. Further discussion will be held on taking them to the main temple in future,” he added.

Das further said the darshan of physically challenged devotees will be facilitated with cooperation of Chhatish Nijog and management committee of the temple. Besides, a separate resting accommodation will be made under the project near the north gate, he added.

The process of laser scanning of Ratna Bhandar, which was started by a 15-member team of the ASI, is now complete, an ASI official said. Architects and experts in surveillance and photography were part of the laser scanning exercise.

Laser scanning on a total of 45 points of the north side and upper part of the Ratna Bhandar was carried out.

Giving details, Superintendent Archaeologist of the ASI DB Garnaik said, during surface scanning, the images were captured by ASI technician. The raw images will be converted to another format with the help of software which will facilitate us to examine a particular point of the structure and conduct required repair, he said.

If any cracks are found on the outer walls of the Ratna Bhandar, ASI will seek the permission to scan the inner Ratna Bhandar too.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has been informed about the completion of the scanning of Ratna Bhandar. The need to speed up the scanning of Natamandap has also been emphasised, he said.

Regarding the broken and damaged idols in the 12th century shrine, ASI officials said the damaged portions of the idols will be mended and not replaced as the ASI now has artists to do the job.

Notably, the temple administration had permitted the ASI for the laser scanning of the outer wall of the Ratna Bhandar to detect suspected cracks through which water is seeping inside.

The ASI team had launched the laser scanning on the outer wall of the Ratna Bhandar in presence of the members of technical core committee and management committee of the temple.

The team would submit its report on structural stability of the treasury within 15 days. The report will help in planning conservation of Ratna Bhandar.

Earlier, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Ranjan Das had told the media that the ASI’s report would be reviewed by a technical expert team. A decision on taking up repair works will be taken accordingly, he added.

It may be noted that the ASI had written to the SJTA seeking permission to examine and conserve Ratna Bhandar in 2018 and 2022.

Servitors belonging to the Khuntia Nijog of the temple submitted a memorandum in this regard to 5T Secretary VK Pandian during his visit to Puri district, sources said.

They have urged the state government to take necessary steps for making traditional attire mandatory for devotees while visiting Shree Jagannath temple in Puri.

The servitors in their memorandum have also sought strict implementation of ban on the use of mobile phones inside the temple, according to Khuntia Nijog president Hajuri Krushna Chandra Khuntia.

Stating that there were instances when some devotees entered the temple by wearing ‘indecent’ clothes, he said the government should come out with a dress code and make traditional clothes mandatory for devotees to maintain the sanctity of the shrine. The authorities concerned should also launch an awareness drive on the issue.

Alleging that some people are still using mobile phones on the temple premises, the servitors said the temple administration and police should take immediate steps to strictly enforce the ban on use of mobile phone use in the temple.

This apart, the servitors also urged to government to take steps for arranging a designated centre for lactating mothers to feed their babies while visiting the temple.

In a report submitted to the High Court, amicus curiae N K Mohanty has expressed apprehension about the safety of these structures and said anything can happen any moment.

If something happens to the two structures, it can also have a serious impact on the main temple, the report said. The report was prepared following a petition filed over the safety of the Nata Mandap and Jagamohan of the 12th century shrine.

Sharing information about the report, petitioner’s counsel Alok Mohapatra reportedly said the amicus curiae has stated that the main beam of the Nata Mandap, which acts as a cantilever from both sides, is in a pathetic condition and any mishap can take place anytime.

As per the report submitted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), no works are being carried out at the Jagamohan, it said, adding that a crack developed in the ‘pidha’ of the Jagamohan is visible and the layers of the stones have also been displaced, while the iron beam is getting damaged due to rust. All these require urgent attention.

Voicing concern over the condition of internal structures, servitors of the shrine said repair work should be taken up immediately to prevent further damage. Though the temple is being given an attractive look from outside, not much is being done inside the shrine, they claimed.

Senior servitor Binayak Das Mohapatra said repair work should be taken up on a priority basis to prevent any mishap and further damage to different structures of the shrine.

Senior ASI officials, however, maintained that the cracks that have developed are minor in nature and these would be repaired.

The next hearing on the petition has been posted for September 13.