Goldsmiths, gemmologists, and servitors on Wednesday began the survey of gold, diamonds, and jewelled ornaments at Puri’s 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar (treasury), the first such exercise in since 1978.. Gemmologists, including from Mumbai, have been tasked with identifying precious stones. (PTI). Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee said the exercise began at 12:09pm, considered an auspicious time. “3D mapping along with photography and videography is being carried out to prepare a comprehensive inventory,” he said. He added that around 80% of the movable treasures in the Ratna Bhandar were counted during the first day’s six-hour exercise.. A supervising and a handling team were constituted for the exercise as per the state government’s Standard Operating Procedure. Officials from the Reserve Bank of India are overseeing the conversion of measurements and accounting procedures.. Puri district authorities and police accompanied the teams as they proceeded from the temple office to the Singhadwara (Lion Gate) en route to the treasury under tight security.. Specialised gemmologists, including experts from Mumbai, have been tasked with identifying diamonds, sapphires, pearls, rubies, and other precious stones. Each ornament was being placed on velvet cloth, illuminated from multiple angles, and digitally recorded. Tagging systems will be used to assign new serial numbers and match them with records from the 1978 process.. SJTA officials said that the current process will convert measurements into grams for standardised documentation, unlike earlier assessments that relied on traditional units. The records will also be digitised once the physical counting is completed.. Officials said the exercise will pause during major religious observances such as Ram Navami and resume on April 8 as per the schedule.. The treasury was last reorganised in 1905 and remained largely unopened until the 1978 process. Several gemstones could not be fully identified earlier. The current digital documentation aims to address this gap.. Authorities said arrangements have been made to ensure that daily worship and public darshan continue without disruption.
