As the special team of experts and judges deputed by the Supreme Court ended the inventory of the treasure found in most of the secret chambers of the cellar A of the 18th century-built Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, the value of the gold treasure swelled to a phenomenal Rs.1 lakh Cr.

The experts have not yet opened the secret cellar B whose contents were not seen by anyone in the last century. Temple Executive Officer VK Harikumar said that the secret cellar has three locks and they were able to open only two of them. “We tried our best to open the third lock but it didn’t give in,” he said adding that they did not want to open it forcibly. 

The panel of experts, who included Justices Mr M.N. Krishnan and Mr C.S. Rajan will discuss with engineers and technical experts on how to open the cellar without causing damage to the door. After discussions, a date for the opening of the cellar will be fixed, said the official.

In some of the chambers, the experts found gold articles used for rituals and pujas, golden conches, the emblem of Travancore, a pile of traditional sarapoli and manikya necklaces and host of other articles. 

Meanwhile, people began discussing that the cellar B might contain a secret tunnel or silver ware. When media persons asked for the real worth of the treasure found in the temple till now, the judges said they were not there to talk to the media. “Our duty is to report to the Supreme Court and we will do that,” they said.