The ancient Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala which has become an international attraction after the discovery that treasures worth over a lakh crore rupees have been stored in its secret vaults, is all set to get special security arrangements including hi-tech systems which not many institutions in the country have.
The temple, which is presently perhaps the richest Hindu shrine in the entire world, may soon have special security systems which only the Parliament House and Taj Mahal can boast of. Most modern arrangements, which could repel even terror strikes, would be installed in and around the temple.Work for installing such security systems around the temple has already started and state-of-the-art security implements, which include heavy-duty bollards that spring up automatically and remote-controlled roadblock systems have already reached the site for installation. Sources in the police said that installation of the systems would be completed soon.
The police are also examining whether the temple and its surroundings could be declared as a no-fly zone, a special security status which presently only the Taj Mahal has. For this, a clearance from the Centre is necessary and efforts are on to get this. Declaration of the temple area as a no-fly zone may require alterations in the aviation map.The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple had come into international focus in July-August, 2011 after a panel of experts reported that the six secret vaults -Kallaras - within its premises were holding gold, precious stones, rare coins and other invaluable items whose material worth alone might come to over Rs120,000 crore.
Sources said that the new security measures are being undertaken at the instruction of the experts’ panel appointed by the Supreme Court. Of late, security experts, archeologists and devotees have been complaining about the inadequacy of the security arrangements at the temple considering the attention it was receiving internationally.The police’s plan is to install the modern security systems at the entry points into the temple except the one on the western side. Security will be tightened inside the temple premises and outside. The modern security measures will be in addition to the special, round-the-clock guard by personnel of the Kerala Police’s commando wing.
The giant automatic bollards would be installed by digging the ground. These heavy bollards would be invisible normally but would spring up to the road surface to block vehicles in emergency situations. The bollards which will be installed at the three entry points into the temple will be capable of blocking vehicles that rush at speeds of up to 80 KMPH.The modern roadblocks operating on hydraulic technology have already reached the temple site and are ready for installation, according to sources. These roadblocks can be operated from the control room. The main objective of installing such modern security systems is to avert extremist strikes, the possibility of which security experts are not ruling out.
There is also plan to install sensors and additional surveillance cameras at all crucial spots in the secret vaults holding the treasures and other crucial spots in the temple. According to H Venketesh, City Police commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram, the modern security systems will be installed in less than two months.The temple had so far been administered under the trusteeship of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore but the Supreme Court recently removed the representative of the royalty from the administrative panel on the basis of a report from Gopal Subramaniam, the amicus curiae it had appointed to look into the temple affairs.
According to Subramaniam, there were serious discrepancies in the administration of the temple and that pilferage in invaluable articles stored in the shrine could have been happening. The Kerala High Court had earlier ruled that the temple, like most other Hindu shrines in the State, should be managed by the Government.