Daijiworld Media Network
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 4: Chief minister Oomen Chandy convened a meeting with Devaswom minister V P Sivakumar and police officials to take stock of the situation unfolding at Lord Anantha Padmanabha Temple here on Monday July 4.
As the Kerala police is not equipped to guard the immense treasure, the government will take the help of army and paramilitary forces, it is learnt.
The over Rs 1-lac crore treasure recovered from the secret chambers of Lord Padmanabha Temple will continue to be the property of the temple.
Announcing that the state government intends to let the temple keep the assets, chief minister Oomen Chandy said that the government will provide permanent security to guard the valuables after getting permission frm the Apex Court the royal family and the chief priest of the temple.
The treasure found included gold and diamond articles along with the gold idols and precious stones. Chandy, however, was tight-lipped about the worth of the articles.
With such wealth and more to come, it seems the temple may well be the richest in the entire country. At present, Lord Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati and Saibaba Temple in Shiridi have been occupying the top two spots among the richest temples of the country. Lord Ananta Padmanabhaswamy Temple, which was not being counted among the very rich temples till last week, now has the potential to become No1 in the country.
The Supreme Court had ordered for opening of these cellars, while hearing a petition filed by T P Sundararajan, an advocate by profession. Sundararajan had suspected foul play by the temple governing council, and had sought opening of the secret rooms and listing out the royal wealth stored in them. A seven-member committee including retired judges, has been overseeing this work now.