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Friday, 28th August 2009 (3519 views)

A valuable gold crown has been donated to a temple in Maharashtra, India.

The crown is studded with diamonds and is worth 1.3 million rupees (£16,389), the Press Trust of India reports.

It was given to the Sri Saibaba temple in Shirdi by a secret donor from Mumbai and was officially handed over by union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his wife, Vrushali.

Millions of worshippers flock to the Sri Saibaba temple every year. Many Indian temples regularly attract donations of a high value from devotees, with gold forming the bulk of such gifts.

Ram Kiran, a bullion dealer from Mumbai, told Commodity Online earlier this year that the fact that gold is the most donated item to Indian temples is unsurprising.

"Giving donations in cash and kind to God is a ritual that India has followed for centuries," he said, adding that India's temples likely hold several tonnes of gold between them.

 

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