Tirupati, December 26: A team of government mint experts has certified that all the gold, silver and precious stone-studded jewels in the Venkateswara temple here are genuine and authentic. Submitting the verification reports to TTD joint executive officer N Yuvaraj here today, government mint (Hyderabad) deputy general manager Sashi Bhushan said a committee of mint experts from Hyderabad was constituted for the purpose at the request of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
“Verification of jewels for its caratage and purity in a fully-equipped laboratory is not difficult. We have installed an x-ray machine inside the temple to examine the jewellery,” he said. Experts have visited the temple ten times since February this year to check the size, colour, quality and purity of the Lord’s jewels. In all, 650 gold and 350 silver jewels were verified, he said.
The TTD had engaged Gemology Lab, Mumbai; Government Mint, Hyderabad; and IT Value Assessment Experts. Of the three, gemology experts from Mumbai had already submited their report on October 26 and today the government mint experts submitted their report. IT Value Assessment Experts are expected to submit their report next month.
After the IT Value Assessment Experts submit their report, TTD will submit its report to the High Court.
The Government Mint Experts Committee members M Ponnukalai, KK Paraakalam, TTD Dy EO (temple) Gopalakrishna, AEO (inventory) Susheela were also present.
–Agencies