With hundreds of people getting stranded at various locations in the city due to lockdown, Sri Durga Mallesewara Swamyvarla Devasthanam here has taken up supply of food from its kitchen meant for the pilgrims visiting the temple.
Ever since the lockdown was clamped, the Kanaka Durga temple authorities have distributed 'kadambam' (a special dish made of rice, dal and vegetables) and 'dadyodanam' (curd rice) to the needy. The temple has distributed about 56,000 kg of 'kadambam' and 'dadyodanam' so far. The temple is fetching curd from Sangam Dairy to prepare the 'dadyodanam'.
Donations sought
Temple Executive Officer M.V. Suresh Babu says the devasthanam has been supplying 8,000 packets of food every day. The food is prepared in most hygienic conditions. Each packet weighs 450 grams to 500 grams. A lot of preparations go into it as the food has to be delivered at the earliest time. As the temple has kitchen, infrastructural facilities and dedicated staff, the devasthanam has decided to provide 'kadambam' and 'dadyodanam', which are most sought after prasadams at the temple. The devotees can make donations by logging onto www.kanakadurgamma.org or eosdmsd@sbi through BHIM UPI app. They can scan QR code, and phone pay or Google pay, he says.
The devasthanam follows the dictum that offering food without expecting anything in return in letter and spirit, says AEO B. Venkat Reddy, who is in-charge of the 'annadanam'. The devasthanam is spending about ₹24 on each packet. Close to 20-kg vegetables goes into 'kadambam' prepared for 2,000 people. Apart from vegetables, red gram, Bengal gram, rice, mustard, oil etc are used. For 'dadyodanam', 200 litres of curd supplied by Sangam is used for 2,000 people. The temple prepares 8,000 packets every day, he explains.
Kanaka Durga temple usually provides free meal to about 5,000 devotees every day. The devasthanam provides free meal to
3,000-4,000 during normal days. The rush surges to 5,000 on Sundays and Fridays. And, during festivities, it peaks to about 25,000 per day.
