Treasures must remain in temple itself

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The revelations that have followed the inventory preparation of the articles inside the chambers in Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple are like a Pandora’s box opened. It has posed a severe security threat to the temple and the premises, for which immediate action must be taken by the State Government, the Thiruvananthapuram Citizens’ Protection Forum has said. At the meeting, the members said that the pious atmosphere of the temple has been diluted by the recent happenings. The treasure that was stored and preserved in the chambers for centuries must remain there itself.  The meeting said that the covenant prepared by the Centre and Travancore’s last king Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma has no legal sanctity anymore. The state has not declared the temple as its heritage asset yet. Hence, transferring the assets of the temple to any museum, whether state-run or a National museum, is condemnable.The running of the temple must be devoid of any politics. The Forum pointed out that in the case of other religious institutions, there is no meddling of outsiders or politicians. So the trend of including politicians in the running of temples must be stopped. The existence of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple Employees Union (CITU) is a glaring example of this. The presence of high rises near the temple also poses a threat to the temple’s security, the Forum said. It also said that incompetent police personnel must be kept away from the temple security. The way chain-snatchings were reported in the temple the other day is testimony to this.