The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.Treasure estimated at over Rs 1 lakh crore has been found in five of the six chambers of the 16th century temple that have been opened so far on the instructions of the Supreme Court after a local lawyer alleged poor security and mismanagement by the trust that runs the temple.
The court proposed that a curator of a museum be appointed to preserve the treasure being unearthed from thetemple.
The Supreme Court has asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the source and antiquity of the treasure unearthed from the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram.
The temple security has been handed over to the Quick Reaction Team after several precious articles valued upto Rs one lakh crore were found from the temple vaults during the inventory process.
Devaswom Minister V. S. Sivakumar reached the temple on Tuesday to review security arrangements at temple after the recovery of treasure trove.
The Kerala police had recommended a three-tier security system to safe-guard the newly discovered riches of the Padmanabhaswamy temple.
He was reacting to an interview given to a TV channel by retired high court judge C.S. Rajan who said that it was an amazing sight to see such a large quantity of jewels which one can never see in a lifetime and it was indeed a rare experience.
He also said that they have recorded all the contents of the five chambers in five books and hence it is going to be a record.
Speaking to IANS, a royal family source said that on Wednesday the case of the stay given by the apex court against the Kerala High Court ruling was coming up for hearing.
Sunderarajan has been given police protection after angry reactions from the public on why he went ahead with a petition to the apex court, which has led to the stock-taking. He said that he does not fear anything. God's own riches: Kerala's temple treasure amounts to a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore
The seven-member committee appointed by the apex court is expected to meet on Friday here again and Wednesday's case is going to be keenly watched.
Opening of the sealed secret chambers, on Supreme Court orders, which began on June 27, has so far revealed a large number of gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels.
"Friday threw up far more surprises in the form of 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period, 18 coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles besides over 1,000 kg of gold in the form of coins and trinkets and a small elephant made of the yellow metal, sources said."
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