The government has asked Devaswom Principal Secretary K.R. Jyotilal to issue necessary directives to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for conducting a detailed audit and digitisation of the gold, silver, and jewellery stocked in the strongrooms of various temples attached to it.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran told The Hindu that the government move was aimed at protecting the gold, silver and other precious offerings, including Thiruvabharanam, made by devotees to various TDB temples. The TDB should take immediate steps to digitise the precious assets stocked in its strongrooms, on the lines of the audit and digitisation carried out at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mr. Surendran said the digitisation of all precious articles belonging to each TDB temple and ensuring its due protection had been a long-pending demand of the devotees.
The government would take every possible measure to protect the interest of the devotees, he said.
Reported missing
Gold jewellery of the presiding deity at the famous Sri Krishna temple at Ambalappuzha reportedly went missing in 2016. Gold ornaments were stolen from the strongroom of the Anandavalleeswaram temple in Kollam in October, 2010.
Though inquiry reports had categorically pointed out lapses on the part of the officials concerned, no action had been initiated against them so far.
According to TDB sources, average gold offerings at Sabarimala by the devotees during the annual pilgrimage season alone used to be not less than 5 kg.
It has been the TDB practice to store these gold and other precious offerings in separate packets in the Devaswom strongroom at Aranmula.
There were also allegations from different quarters on the improper stock register maintained in the Devaswom strongrooms and a detailed audit and the digitisation of the entire stock would leave no room for foul play, the Minister said.
