COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 25: Weighing of the ornaments made of gold and silver offered by devotees during 1996 to June of this year to Lord Madan Mohan, the deity of Cooch Behar royal family, was completed on yesterday afternoon. The entire job was done under supervision of Cooch Behar Sadar SDO Mr Krishnendu Sadhukhan. Secretary of Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board (DTB) Mr Naresh Chandra Sarkar and member Mr Trikulendra Narayan were also present on the occasion. 

After weighing it was found that there were ornaments made of 1191.02 gram gold and 4.210 kilogram silver that were offered at Madan Mohan Temple in Cooch Behar since 1996. The ornaments offered at the Shiva Temple in Baneswar, Baro Devi Temple in Devibari and Balaram Temple in Bhuchungmari were also weighed. 204 gram gold and 2.450 kilogram silver ornaments were found in these temples under Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board.  

DTB sources said that they will try to sell out the ornaments and if no one appears to buy these (as happened on previous occasions) they will deposit these to banks and the money will be utilised to renovate and improve the temples under the DTB. [] 

PHOTO : Gold and silver ornaments being weighed under supervision of Cooch Behar Sadar SDO Mr Krishnendu Sadhukhan and officials of Debottar Trust Board at Madan Mohan Temple complex. In Cooch Behar on Sunday.  

Citizens want historic coins at palace museum 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 25: Cooch Behar Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Mancha (CNASM) raised a demand to preserve the ancient coins that were recovered recently from Siddheswari Kokiladevi High School premises at the museum inside Cooch Behar Palace.  

After submitting a memorandum to the district magistrate and the superintendent of police, the president of CNASM, Mr Raju Roy said that 58 age-old silver coins of the regimes of the then Maharajas of Cooch Behar were recovered from under the earth at the premises of Siddheswari Kokiladevi High School recently. These are now lying under the custody of police at Cooch Behar Kotowali police station. In Kolkata there are arrangements for curious visitors to see such age-old coins at the museum. A section of Cooch Behar Palace is now open for the visit of tourists and the coins recovered from Siddheswari should be preserved at the museum inside the palace for the viewers, Mr Roy demanded.  

The CNASM president also demanded that metal detectors should be introduced at the entrance of the Cooch Behar Palace and there should be close circuit TV cameras to save the palace from being targeted by the militants. He also demanded adequate security measures to protect the historic Madan Mohan Temple and other temples under Debottar Trust Board. The CNASM president also demanded steps to stop death of tortoises (locally affectionately known as Mohans) of Baneswar Shiv Dighi. []