Kerala's Guruvayur temple has over 260 kg of gold, nearly 20,000 gold lockets: RTI to query

Thrissur, Jan 22: The famed Guruvaur Sree Krishna Temple in this central Kerala district, which recently revealed details of bank deposits to the tune of over Rs 1,700 crore, has declared that it also has over 260 kg of gold in stock.

In an RTI reply, the authorities of the temple said it has 263.637 kg of gold comprising precious stones and coins, and nearly 20,000 gold lockets. The management of the shrine had earlier refused to give details due to security reasons.

The RTI document, which was provided after an appeal, showed that the temple owns 6,605 kg of silver, 19,981 gold lockets and 5,359 silver ones. The RTI, however, has not revealed the total value of gold and silver since the antiquity of some of them has not yet been established. In December last, the RTI revealed the bank deposits to be to the tune of Rs 1,737.04 crore and land of 271.05 acres the value of which was yet to be assessed.

The centuries-old shrine, where Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Krishna, attracts thousands of people from across the country every year. Details of the assets were given following a RTI query from M K Haridas of Guruvayur and president of an organisation named Proper Channel. Haridas alleged that neglect and inaction of the temple devaswom with regard to the development of the shrine and the welfare of its devotees prompted him to seek the details through RTI.