Overview
- The second-phase count, which began Wednesday, brought a select team into the treasury at 11:30 am with Justice Biswanath Rath and SJTA chief Arabinda Padhee present in a multi-agency setup that included the district collector, police, RBI staff, jewellers and a geologist.
- This round targets the outer Ratna Bhandar that holds festival ornaments, including the famed Suna Bhesa gold used during chariot and other special rituals.
- Sessions run through April 11, then resume on April 13 and April 16 to 18, and inner-barricade darshan stays suspended while devotees continue viewing from the outer barricade.
- Officials are documenting items with 3D scans, high-resolution photos and video to build a digital catalog that assigns each piece to secure storage by metal type.
- Administrators describe the effort as the first full verification in 48 years, reference a 1978 list of 111 items, and expect the outer-chamber count to take longer because it holds a large volume of gold ornaments.