20-kg gold adorns Keonjhar trio

Keonjhar: Thousands of devotees witnessed Suna Besha (golden attire) of Jagannath and his siblings at the Baladevjew Temple here on Monday. The three deities wore about 20 kg of gold ornament, claimed to be second only to Puri.
Security was tightened around the chariot and forces deployed to maintain peace. "Devotees can witness the Suna Besha ceremony from 3pm to 10pm.No one will be allowed near the deities. In anticipation of a big crowd, we have made proper arrangements," said sub-collector, Keonjhar, P C Mishra.
Temple sources said the ornaments include many antique pieces, donated by the royal family of Keonjhar. The ornaments has portraits of the royal family engraved on it and valued at hundreds of crores of rupees. "Earlier gold-plated ornaments were used for the ceremony. It is now conducted with real gold ornaments," said Mantu Pati a local devotee.
The 16th century Sri Baladevjew temple was built by King Laxmi Narayan Bhanjadeo. "The height of the chariot at 62 feet is taller than that of Jagannath Temple in Puri," said Sanjay Tripathy, a priest. It earlier stood at 72 feet and reduced by 10 feet for lack of wood, he added.
According to the priest, the event was started in 2009 after a lapse of about five decades. Prior to that, the last Suna Besha was held here in 1961 in the presence of the last king of Keonjhar.
The sources said a large amount of ornaments were stolen from the temple locker many years ago. After the incident the ornaments were kept in a bank locker. About 40 kg of gold and precious stone-studded ornaments of the deities are kept in a bank locker.