Himachal to form trust for Raghunath temple

Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Feb 20 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh government will form a trust for the Lord Raghunath temple to ensure the safety of its idols and valuables, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said Friday.

"We are contemplating to form a trust for the temple to ensure its safety, proper upkeep and management," the chief minister told reporters here.

Virbhadra Singh was here to pay obeisance at the Raghunath temple.

The centuries old idol of Lord Raghunath, the chief deity of the Kullu Valley, was stolen Dec 9, 2014 with other valuables and artefacts.

A Special Investigating Team with the help of Google Earth managed to track down the exact location of the idols and valuables last month.

"The temples are valuable treasure trove of our rich ancient culture and people have unflinching faith in our deities and they would be protected at any cost," he said.

The chief minister said there were temples in the state being run by the trust and provided adequate security.

The Lord Raghunath idol is a historic one and has huge antique value as Raja Jagat Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Kullu, obtained it from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. It was then installed in the 17th century temple.