Head of Travancore royal family passes away

The head of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, died of a cardiac arrest at a private hospital here on Monday. He was 91.

Varma, was the titular Maharaja of Travancore, and chairman of the trust running the famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala hailed Varma's significant contribution to the state.

"His efforts have been widely accepted and acknowledged by the people of Kerala and his contribution to the state is enormous and we cannot forget his contribution. His contribution will be remembered by the people of Kerala forever," said Chennithala.

People from all walks of life gathered to pay their homage to Varma.

Chief Minister Oomen Chandy and leaders of other political parties also expressed grief over Varma's death.

The state government declared Monday a public holiday as a mark of respect to Varma.

Former Kerala chief secretary C. P. Nair lauded Varma's greatness for continuing the tradition of donating for the temple.

"The greatness of the late Maahraja of Travancore is that he continued an unbroken tradition of more than 1000 years, particularly in relation to the huge funds costing about rupees one lakh crore detected in the wall of the Padmanabha Temple," said Nair.

Varma, 91, had followed the rites and rituals of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple since 1991.