Idol smugglers may have to think twice before laying their hands on any idol in the state now that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department's mission to digitise bronze and stone idols in about 38,000 temples is in the last leg of its completion.

The department has created a database which contains pictures of idols in all the 38,000 temples with their complete description including name, age, period of make etc. The database with HR&CE will be the second of its kind on temples, after a Puducherry institute, which provides evidence in many cases of idol theft. Even though the data collection process started two years back, the department speeded up the process six months ago and aims to wind it up in the next few months...................Read more

Source: The Times of India