"Proud moment": Travancore Devaswom Board on President Murmu's upcoming visit to Sabarimala temple

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 8 (ANI): Travancore Devaswom Board President PS Prashanth on Wednesday said the upcoming visit of President Droupadi Murmu to the Sabarimala temple is a "proud moment", adding that necessary arrangements are being made for the visit.
Speaking to ANI, Prashanth said, "We feel proud that the President of India is visiting Sabarimala after many years. According to the current schedule, the President will arrive at Nilakkal by helicopter and then proceed to Sannidhanam by road for evening darshan. The return to Thiruvananthapuram is planned for the same day."
The Devaswom president said that a review meeting is being held under the leadership of the Chief Secretary.
"These details have been received from the President's protocol team. A review meeting is being held under the leadership of the Chief Secretary, and further directions will be issued based on that," he added.
The President, during her two-day visit to the state, will visit and attend various programmes in Kottayam as well.
The Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple will open for Thula month (Malayalam month of Thulam) puja on October 17
The doors are set to close on October 22 and will reopen again in November for Sree Chithira Attathirunnal.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing Sabrimala gold plating controversy, Kerala Minister V Sivankutty stated that the Devaswom Board was an autonomous institution and its activities were conducted under the supervision of the High Court.
Sivankutty said that strict action would be taken against anyone held responsible.
On Monday, the Kerala High Court ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged theft of gold from Sabarimala temple, while also directing that the investigation be confidential and no information be leaked.
The investigation will be led by former Superintendent of Police S Sasidharan, and overseen by Crime Branch chief Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H Venkatesh. The team will consist of three inspectors, including cyber experts.
The court's order pertained to 2019, when the gold-lined copper plates were taken down by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). The issue intensified when Unnikrishnan Potti claimed that two gold-plated panels donated to the temple in 2019 were missing from the strongroom, just ahead of the TDB-sponsored Global Ayyappa Sangamam event. Recently, the IDB vigilance had recovered the "missing" items, but it was alleged that around 5 kg of weight was lost from the plates. (ANI)