Jagannath temple closed for devotees as Lord's valuables being shifted to 'Ratna Bhandar'

The Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri was closed for devotees from 10 am on Tuesday as the authorities have started the process of shifting jewellery and other valuables to the ' Ratna Bhandar' or treasury, amid tight security, an official said.

As decided earlier, the entire temple premises was vacated to ensure that no members of the public were present when the officials shift the valuables to the Ratna Bhandar, which has been repaired after a long time, the official said.

The Lord's valuables were stored in temporary strong rooms, said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee.

The members of the Ratna Bhandar committee, headed by retired High Court judge, Justice Biswanath Rath, Puri Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida, SP Prateek Singh and others were present inside the temple when the valuable shifting was being carried out, an official said.

Apart from the Shree Jagannath Temple Police (SJT), district police, personnel of ODRAF, Fire Service and other security agencies were also present in the temple premises.

The 12th-century shine is under the cover of multi-layer security as the Lord's valuables were being shifted to Ratna Bhandar. The entry of devotees to the main temple is completely prohibited, an official said.

However, Padhee said the devotees interested in receiving ' Mahaprasad' can get it at ' Anand Bazaar'. "After the completion of the shifting work, the entry restrictions will be lifted," he said, without specifying how long the restrictions would be in place.

The SJTA also appealed to the devotees for cooperation.