Naveen Patnaik in south to checkmate Amit Shah in west

BHUBANESWAR: The two-day visit of national BJP president Amit Shah to Odisha from Wednesday has warmed up the political scenario in the State with the BJD asserting that it will have no impact on its electoral prospects. While Shah during his visit will meet party leaders to discuss strategy for 2019 polls and address two public meetings at Bhawanipatna and Balangir on April 4 and 5 respectively, the BJD on its part will organise a huge function at Berhampur on Wednesday to be attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in which several senior leaders including former Union minister Chadrasekhar Sahu will join the regional party.

Sahu claimed that about 50 former Congress leaders of Ganjam district including Bikram Panda and Bhagaban Gantayat along with over 20,000 followers will join BJD in a public meeting at Khallikote College stadium in the presence of the BJD supremo. Meanwhile, Congress has decided to oppose Shah’s visit to Kalahandi district.

Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das said the party has already organised four public meetings at Kesinga, Dharamgarh, Junagarh and Bhawanipatna where Shah’s visit to the districts four years after BJP came to power at the Centre was criticised. Sources said Congress has decided to oppose Shah’s visit to Kalahandi where he will address a public meeting. Even as the BJP claimed that the party’s rank and file will be energised due to Shah’s two-day visit to Western Odisha districts where it has a stronger base, BJD general secretary Arun Sahu said it will have no impact. The BJP president should clarify to the people of Odisha about the failure of the BJP led Central Government in fulfilling poll promises, he said.

The temple authorities would provide logistics like supply of oxygen masks, snake helpline person to catch if in case any reptile is noticed in the dark closed room and floodlight gadgets besides ambulance and medicos who would be on alert. Four platoons of armed police would be deployed in and outer complex of the temple. The chief administrator of the SJTA, Puri Collector and the Superintendent of Police along with other staff would be present in the complex. The inspecting team would be required to return to the temple where they would write the report and each member would put their signature.

Only after that, they would be allowed to leave the temple. The ‘Ratna Bhandar’ has been a matter of immense mystery and speculation because nobody knows how many rooms are there as it was never fully opened for several centuries. Many servitors speculate the number of rooms to be in the range of four to seven. In absence of temple architectural design map, the administration is also in the dark. A 1978 inventory says the first outer room (Baharbhandar Ghar) of ‘Ratna Bhandar’ contains 34 items which are in daily use of the deities while the interior room has 531 items of gold and silver ornaments studded with rare precious gems like diamond, ruby and emerald.

Besides, 34 headgears of Kings were found in the Bhandar. It took 70 days for a seven-member team assisted by goldsmiths and jewellers to make inventory of each item by weight and value in a 124-page book. The second room (Bhitar Bhandar) was opened in 1905, 1926, 1978 and 1985. According to Madala Panji (temple chronicle), the Gajapati won 46 states in his conquests to the South and North. As per tradition, the defeated king surrenders his headgear along with the sword. While the sword is kept in the royal treasury, the head gear is deposited in the temple treasury. However, nobody is sure what is there in the unopened rooms.