Over 500 kg of gold donated by devotees to Samayapuram temple to be converted into bars
Over 500 kg of gold jewellery given as offerings by the devotees to Samayapuram Arulmigu Mariamman temple near Tiruchi and which were not used for the deity and the temple are to be converted into gold bars.
The exercise of segregation of gold items given as offerings by the devotees was done within the temple premises from September 9 to 18 under the direct supervision of a retired Supreme Court Judge and two retired judges of the Madras High Court. Present during this exercise were senior Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department officials and three verification teams from the same department.
The total weight of the gold items taken up for segregation was 554.717 kg. Stones, dirt, and other material were removed during this exercise which lasted 10 days. After the segregation, the weight of the gold items stood at 526.435 kg. These jewellery are kept in safe custody on temple premises.
The gold items would be sent through the State Bank of India to the Government Mint in Mumbai for melting them and converting them into 24 carat gold bars. The gold bars would be deposited with the State Bank of India for investment in gold bonds, the release said. The interest accrued from the investment would be used in the development of the temple.
A senior temple official said the exercise was carried out with adequate security measures in place with the deployment of armed police personnel and installation of surveillance cameras.
Published - September 19, 2024 06:15 pm IST
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