A committee has approved a three-phase inventory of the Puri Temple’s sealed Ratna Bhandar, to be completed before the 2026 Rath Yatra.

A high-level committee led by Justice Biswanath Rath has approved a three-phase plan to inventory the treasures in the Ratna Bhandar of Puri’s Shree Jagannath Temple, aiming to complete the process before the 2026 Rath Yatra. The inventory, which will begin with movable ritual items and proceed to the outer and inner chambers, will include cross-verification with the 1978 records, full videography, digitization, and oversight by temple officials, an RBI representative, and a goldsmith. The work will proceed without disrupting daily rituals or public darshan, with all personnel required to carry ID cards. The final Standard Operating Procedure will be reviewed by the temple’s managing committee and submitted to the Odisha government for approval. The Ratna Bhandar, sealed for decades, was reopened in July 2024 after structural repairs by the ASI and restoration work completed by July 2025.