THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has made it clear that the treasure trove unearthed at Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple belongs to the temple and it would be protected within the temple itself. The wealth belongs to the temple since it was offered to Lord Sree Padmanabha, he said."The State Government is committed to providing adequate security to the treasure trove and the state police would be entrusted with the task. It is the duty of the State Government and the people of Kerala to protect the treasure trove,'' said Chandy, after the highlevel meeting convened to review the security measures at the temple here on Sunday.Saying that the State Government had decided to take over the responsibility of protecting the treasure trove, the Chief Minister said that roundtheclock mobile police patrolling will begin from Sunday night within the temple premises. A special control room will be set up within the temple once adequate space has been finalised. Till then, the control room will be functioning at the Fort police station.He said that the government's decision for giving protection and the steps to be taken for providing security to the temple will be submitted before the Supreme Court through the committee appointed by the Apex Court. "Even when the security will be strengthened, the rights of the devotees will be protected,'' the Chief Minister said.The committee which is currently inspecting the treasure trove has Additional Chief Secretary K Jayakumar as its member. The government's report will be submitted by Jayakumar in the committee. The final decision will be of the Supreme Court.The state government has decided to provide temporary security shield to the temple. A permanent security cover will be decided after the directive from the Supreme Court and also after consulting with the head of the Travancore royal family and the thantri of the temple, the Chief Minister said. On the assessment of the value of treasure trove, Oommen Chandy said that the state government had nothing to claim on this since it was a matter before the Supreme Court. He said that there was no need for seeking the support of any Central agency in giving protection to the temple since the state police was wellequipped to provide security. The meeting was also attended by Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar, Home Secretary K Jayakumar, DirectorGeneral of Police Jacob Punnoose, State Intelligence head Hemachandran, City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham and other police officials.
Comments
0 comment