Overview

• ASI concluded structural repairs on July 7 after 333 hours over 95 days, replacing more than 520 Khondalite blocks, a corbel arch and 15 beams.
• The conservation employed traditional dry masonry techniques guided by CSIR-NGRI’s laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar surveys.
• Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said a high-level committee led by Justice Biswanath Rath will oversee an RBI-assisted inventory beginning in August.
• The audit will use digital photography, machine-based purity testing and detailed cataloguing to reconcile current holdings with the 1978 inventory of 128.38 kg of gold and 221.53 kg of silver.
• Valuables moved to temporary strong rooms during repairs will be returned to the Ratna Bhandar and resealed once the inventory is complete.