男女羞羞视频在线观看,国产精品黄色免费,麻豆91在线视频,美女被羞羞免费软件下载,国产的一级片,亚洲熟色妇,天天操夜夜摸,一区二区三区在线电影

Asia-Pacific

$17b treasure trove found in Indian temple

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-07-04 06:20
Large Medium Small

$17b treasure trove found in Indian temple
Devotees throng to Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple after offering prayers on the eve of Pongala festival in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala February 18, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India - A treasure trove of gold, diamonds and precious stones hidden for centuries was discovered in the underground vaults of a temple in southern India, a temple official said on Sunday, as authorities scrambled armed police to guard the shrine.

Local media said that the search team's finds included a four-feet-tall gold statue studded with emeralds, 15-feet-long gold necklaces and jewel-encrusted crowns. The estimated value of the hoard is 750 billion rupees ($17 billion), but officials said they were yet to assess the findings.

"Most of the articles found in the temple are offerings made by devotees and wealth the erstwhile rulers of the Travancore princely state had stored in the temple," the temple official said on conditions of anonymity.

The treasure was found in the 16th century Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in southern Kerala state, the royal chapel of the former rulers of Travancore, now part of Kerala.  

Hundreds of armed police were deployed around the temple and metal detectors were set up at the entrance after the first reports of the treasure came out on Saturday.  

The value put to the treasure is more than what the federal government spends on education annually.  

Intellectuals and religious leaders debated on how to use the wealth. A mob attacked the house of an activist who demanded it be used to public purposes.

Several temples in India have billions of dollars worth of wealth as rich devotees and royalty donate gold and other precious objects, and run schools, colleges and hospitals.

The Tirumala temple in eastern Andhra Pradesh state is reported to have 3,000 kg of gold, a third of which it deposited with the State Bank of India last year.

The royal family still controls the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, unlike other temples in Kerala which are managed by the government. The government appoints priests and scrutinises budgets.

The vaults were searched after a local lawyer petitioned a court to order the government to take over the temple as it did not have adequate security to protect its wealth. India's top court had then set up a committee to open the long-sealed vaults and take stock of the treasure.    

Temple Affairs Minister V.S. Sivakumar said the government would ask the Supreme Court on how to maintain the treasure.

 

分享按鈕
主站蜘蛛池模板: 临夏县| 柏乡县| 安西县| 吉木萨尔县| 肇庆市| 商丘市| 石林| 阿克苏市| 巫溪县| 旬邑县| 巧家县| 武山县| 永修县| 湖南省| 翼城县| 胶南市| 南投市| 南昌县| 平湖市| 谢通门县| 北流市| 大兴区| 梁平县| 中宁县| 义马市| 长沙县| 普定县| 民和| 永靖县| 黑山县| 长阳| 尼勒克县| 苗栗县| 马尔康县| 昭觉县| 亳州市| 宽城| 彝良县| 手机| 德保县| 犍为县| 陇川县| 西城区| 邵武市| 浏阳市| 西华县| 留坝县| 陇南市| 航空| 柯坪县| 新宾| 井研县| 石台县| 卢氏县| 冀州市| 阳新县| 岢岚县| 红安县| 勐海县| 孝义市| 鲁山县| 班戈县| 武强县| 筠连县| 永新县| 湖口县| 利津县| 鄂州市| 通许县| 黑龙江省| 朔州市| 乌海市| 汉阴县| 林周县| 长武县| 常州市| 阜平县| 东兴市| 黎城县| 濮阳市| 兴义市| 秦安县|