The Ratna Bhandar, located in the basement of the temple, has an outer and an inner chamber.

The authorities of the Jagannath temple in Puri imposed restrictions on the visit of devotees to the 12th-century shrine for Thursday when valuables from the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) is scheduled to be shifted to a temporary strong room, an official said.

The shifting was necessary for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the temple, to carry out conservation work inside the inner chamber which was reopened on July 14 after 46 years for preparing an inventory of valuables and the repair of its structure.

The Ratna Bhandar, located in the basement of the temple, has an outer and an inner chamber.

“As the arrangements are made to open the inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar again on Thursday, we have imposed restrictions on the entry of devotees into the temple. None will be allowed to enter after 8 AM of Thursday,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Arabinda Padhee said on Wednesday.

Only authorised persons and servitors will be allowed entry into the temple after 8 AM and just the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the shrine will remain open on Thursday, he said.

However, people can have darshan of the deities – Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra – as they are at present on their chariots parked outside the temple, said Padhee, an IAS officer.