Mock Drill at Calicut Airport

Rallying for farmers, Rahul targets Mayawati by 'kisan mahapanchayat'.

Aligarh, July 9 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Saturday spoke out against police atrocities and land acquisition by the Mayawati government at a mammoth farmers' rally that marked the end of a 'long march' through Uttar Pradesh villages ahead of next year's assembly polls.

He alleged that the state government was firing bullets at farmers 'demanding their genuine right of proper compensation in lieu of their land acquired for development'.

'Farmers,' Gandhi said, 'are not against development'.

'All they want is proper rates for the acquired land. Uttar Pradesh farmers are angry because they say if rich people in Delhi and Noida want to sell their land they get market rates, but when they demand the same they get bullets.'

Before reaching Aligarh, the Congress general secretary trekked through 25 villages, meeting farmers, sleeping and eating with them in their modest homes. He had started Tuesday from the twin villages of Bhatta-Parsaul and made his way through the controversial Yamuna Expressway - the roadlink that is at the centre of the storm of farmers' agitation.

At the rally in Numaish Maidan in the heart of this teeming city, the target of the 41-year-old's speech in Hindi here was clearly Chief Minister Mayawati.

Gandhi waved and smiled before he addressed the nearly 15,000 supporters who had wilted in the heat, humidity and then battled nearly 40 minutes of heavy rains that threatened to wash away the much-talked about 'kisan mahapanchayat'.

Gandhi kept the crowd waiting longer than expected. He was supposed to arrive at the venue by 11 a.m., but reached at 1.45 p.m.

It seemed to be a launching pad for the Congress' campaign to dislodge Mayawati in the next year's assembly polls. The state sends the maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi compared the land acquisition policy of Congress-ruled Haryana with that of the Mayawati government and said farmers in Uttar Pradesh were not even informed when their lands were acquired.

Gandhi said the central government had implemented the rural job guarantee act for poor farm labourers who could benefit from the government's 'overall inclusive development programmes'.

'But the Uttar Pradesh government refused to implement it because they said it was useless,' he said, and also mentioned about the central government's food security bill that will ensure right to food for every Indian.

Gandhi said the central government was bringing in a new pro-farmer land acquisition law in the Lok Sabha soon.

'But mere amending laws won't help. I want your participation in talks before we frame the law,' he told the gathering, mostly of farmers, amid loud cheers and slogans in his favour.

Gandhi was accompanied by union ministers Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasada and Salman Khurshid, and party leader Digvijay Singh. He held the rally in Aligarh after being denied permission by the Mayawati government to hold it in Bhatta-Parsaul.

Though Gandhi didn't talk about next year's assembly election, others, particularly farmer leaders, did so unambiguously.

'In 2012 elections, please mark your stamp on the hand (the Congress) election symbol,' said Jasbir Singh, a farmer leader from Bhatta-Parsaul.

Others praised the Congress leader as the 'second Mahatma Gandhi in making'.

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Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple - An ancient temple, two unopened chambers, a treasure trove of gold, diamonds and precious stones

A treasure trove of gold, diamonds and precious stones reportedly worth billions was discovered in the underground vaults of a temple in southern India, an official said Sunday, according to Reuters. Authorities were working to step up security to protect the valuable treasure.

The riches found deep in vaults under the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, are thought to have been there for more than a century, buried by the Maharajahs of Travancore, according to BBC News.

The treasure included a solid gold statue studded with emeralds, three diamond-studded crowns and 1,000 gold necklaces, one of which was said to be over 5 meters long and weighted 2.5 kg, according to the Irish Times, which cited local media.

Inspectors said they would be cataloguing the treasure for at least another week, and no final official valuation has been released while the inventory continues, BBC News said. Unofficial estimates vary, ranging from an early valuation of 25 billion rupees, or $500 million, to 750 billion rupees. Historians say that assessing the true value of these objects is likely to be difficult.

Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar gave a preliminary estimate of the value of the treasure of 500 billion rupees, or about $11 billion, which would make the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple one of the richest Indian temples, if not the richest, AFP reported. But Jayakumar added that the final value of the treasure can only be confirmed by archeologists when they finish studying it.

The thousands of necklaces, coins, precious stones and art pieces were found in at least five underground vaults at the temple.

"We are yet to open one more secret chamber which has not been opened for nearly 140 years," Jayakumar told AFP.

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple was built in the 16th Century by the kings who ruled over what was then the kingdom of Travancore, according to BBC News. Local legend says that the Travancore kings sealed immense riches within the walls and vaults of the temple.

Since Indian independence, the temple has been controlled by a trust run by the descendants of the Travancore royal family. After 1947 the kingdom of Travancore merged with the Cochin, and eventually became the state of Kerala.






The inspections at the temple began after the Indian Supreme Court appointed a panel to enter the vaults and take inventory of the objects there, including two chambers last believed to have been accessed about 130 years ago.

The Supreme Court also endorsed a ruling by the high court in Kerala, which ordered the state government to take over the temple and its contents from the Travancore royal trust. It also ordered the trust to hand over responsibility for the temple's security to the police.

The news about the treasure at the temple has forced police to step up security measures, according to AFP.

"Now it's known all over the world that the Padmanabhaswamy temple has jewels worth billions of rupees we have decided to assign it maximum security," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said, according to AFP.

Discovery of Sree Padmanabhaswami temple treasure trove sparks debate on its preservation

Even as priceless treasures found from cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here is estimated to be around Rs 90,000 crore, the discovery has sparked a debate on how to protect and preserve the royal legacy which has surpassed everyone’s imagination.

Opening of the long-locked chambers, on Supreme Court orders, which began on June 27, has so far revealed a large number of gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels.

The exercise to assess the value of the articles, undertaken by a seven-member panel of observers, including two former High Court judges, will continue tomorrow. Emergence of the temple as one of the richest Hindu shrines in the world has also thrown up security concerns with police as an interim step deploying two platoons of armed personnel.

According to the temple sources, the treasure trove has been so far estimated at around Rs 90,000 crore. The question nagging historians, academics and enthusiasts of temple culture, however, is how to safeguard the treasure considering its immense historical and cultural values.

Narayanan, former Indian History Congress president said utmost care and thought should be given to protect the treasures. “The state or Central government cannot take over these assets as they are part of the temple coffers according to the system followed by the Travancore kings,” he said.

“We have the examples of many temples before us which have been taken over by the government and later plunged into mismanagement and irregularities. It should not happen to this shrine also,” he said.

Historian and writer MG Sasibhushan opined that the rare treasures, kept for centuries in the secret chambers of the shrine, should be preserved for future generations.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice said that the treasure trove should be used to wipe out poverty.

SNDP yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan said the treasures of Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple should not be used for the benefit of the country. It should neither be used for development works, he said.

Billions priceless treasures found from cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

Precious stones, jewellery, gold and silver estimated to be worth several billion dollars have been found in the secret underground vaults of an ancient temple in southern India, a temple official said on Saturday.

An 18-foot-long necklace, 536kg of 18th century gold coins, diamond-studded plates, rubies and emeralds were found in the vaults of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state, the Hindustan Times reported.

The vaults were opened after the Supreme Court ordered the state government to take over the temple's assets from a trust controlled by the royal family of Travancore

Coconut shells of gold found in sree padmanabhaswami temple

Two coconut shells fashioned out of pure gold were found too. One was studded with precious stones including rubies and emeralds.

The golden ‘anki' used to adorn the presiding deity was found in 16 parts. An ornament used to adorn the chest of the deity and studded with emeralds was also found on Saturday.

Golden idol of Vishnu found at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

A golden idol of Mahavishnu and a golden ‘anki' weighing close to 30 kilograms were among the articles unearthed from one of the six vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here on Saturday.

The inventorying of the vaults is being done by a seven-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court.

The golden idol of Mahavishnu is believed to be a replica of the ‘utsava vigraham' in the Temple and has a height of about one foot (12 angulams). Another idol fashioned out of pure gold was also found.

Discovery of temple treasure Gold coins, Gold Neclase ,Diamonds

Even as priceless treasures found from cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here is estimated to be around Rs 90,000 crore, the discovery has sparked a debate on how to protect and preserve the royal legacy which has surpassed everyone''s imagination.
Opening of the long-locked chambers, on Supreme Court orders, which began on June 27 has so far revealed a large number of gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels.
The exercise to assess the value of the articles, undertaken by a seven-member panel of observers, including two former High Court judges, will continue tomorrow after a day�s breather today.
Emergence of the temple as one of the richest Hindu shrines in the world has also thrown up security concerns with police as an interim step deploying two platoons of armed personnel.
According to the temple sources, the treasure trove has been so far estimated at around Rs 90,000 crore.
The question nagging historians, academics and enthusiasts of temple culture, however, is how to safeguard the treasure considering its immense historical and cultural values.
Many of them say the treasure symbolised the honesty and simplicity of erstwhile Travancore kings, who did not take away a single item from the pile whose existence they were aware of.
While similar treasures possessed by many other princely states in pre-colonial India were plundered by attackers, or wasted on luxuries by members of the royal houses themselves, the Travancore kings have zealously guarded them as reserves of the state, they said..

Ancient coins and chains found in Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. vault

As per the evaluation of the value of treasures found from the underground cellars of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple there is around 1,00,000 crore rupees (1 Lakh Crore Rupees)There are 6 cellars in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple that were marked from A to B. Among them the cellars A and B are not opened for past 150 years.Other cellars were containing precious items for festivals, daily poojas .etc.The detailed list of Treasures found in Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple are,

1 Lakh Gold Coins
Rare Priceless Gems
Precious Diamonds like Indraneelam, Belgium Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies
1200 Sarappoli Gold Chains
Gold Crowns like Kulashekharaperumal Crown which was used by Kings of Travancore
Kashu Mala (Necklaces)
400 Gold Necklaces with Marathakam stone
More than 2000 Gold ornaments
Gold Plates (Swarna Thalika)
Gold Chains of up to 3 and 10.5 kg and of about 18 ft also
Golden Idol of Padmanabha Swamy
Swarna (Gold) Dhanuss
Swarna (Gold) Pathakams
4 Feet tall Golden statue of Lord Vishnu studded with precious emeralds
Gold Staffs
Golden Utensils
Golden Umbrellas (Thankakuda)
Gold Pots
Gold Varpu, Uruli (Big Utensil)
Gold Kazhuthu Kudam, Kazhuthukootam
Khadika Thadi
Kumbheeyam
Silver Moola Pattika
Gold, Silver Nilavilakku
Gold Kindi
Silver, Gold Dharakidaram
Kudumudi
Narayam

God Shiva Idols made of Gold
Serpents idols in Gold
Golden rings
Gold Thali

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