3 min readThiruvananthapuramJan 6, 2012 03:28 PM IST
First published on: Jan 6, 2012 at 03:28 PM IST
The committee,appointed appointed by the Supreme Court on scientific documentation of treasures locked up in the vaults of famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here will be following standards set up by the International Council of Museum in carrying out the task entrusted to it.
“We want to carry out the mandate entrusted to us in a thorough and foolproof manner applying the latest technology and protocol. We have before us the standard procedures followed by the International Council of Museums. But we will strive to improve on them,” panel co-ordinator and eminent conservationist Dr M V Nair said.
The Supreme Court had yesterday agreed to Kerala’s request for appointment of Nair as co-ordinator of the expert committee to evaluate the wealth in place of former bureaucrat C V Anand Bose,who recently retired from service.
Nair said the panel’s job included categorisation of the invaluable objects found in ‘kallaras’ (vaults) of the sprawling temple into three — those required for daily poojas and rituals of the temple,those which were not required for daily use and those which could be exhibited in a museum.
After inventorying and examining the priceless treasures,the panel would make suggestions whether some of the objects could be exhibited in a museum,and if so,whether within the temple premises or outside,he said.
While making the assessment and drawing up the report the panel would factor in the academic potential of the wealth for future research and studies on topics linked to history,culture and heritage,Nair said.
The state electronic devices manufacturer Keltron had been asked to provide the equipment required for the job.
“We have asked them to ensure the precision and quality of the equipment so that the job could be carried out in an error-free manner adhering to international standards,preferably better than them”,Nair said.
He said the committee proposed to start the job at the earliest after a joint meeting with the overseeing committee headed by former Kerala High Court judge M N Krishnan.
The committee headed by Krishnan had opened and inventoried five of the six vaults last year as ordered by the apex court.
Though the panel had conducted the job in a confidential manner and not made any public statement on the value of the treasure,their money valued has been widely speculated to exceed Rs 1 lakh crore.
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