AHMEDABAD: Three Gujarat-based charitable trusts are among those roped in by the
Ram Mandir
authorities to feed lakhs of devotees in
Ayodhya
for up to 30 days. While the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony will be held on Monday, the temple town is already bustling with devotees who are attending the 70-day
Ram Katha
festival that began on Jan 8.
Officials of
Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple
, Ma Shivani Rang Amarnath Charitable Trust and Bapa Sitaram Trust confirmed they will be at the service of the devotees for up to 30 days.
Each trust will provide meals to about 5,000 people per day. They will be given space to operate besides access to electricity and water and can bring in 75 volunteers each.
The officials of Vadodara-based Ma Shivani Rang Amarnath Charitable Trust said they have been associated with the bhandara (distribution of free meals at religious places) at Amarnath Yatra for the past 25 years.
"We have been provided a space at the Naya Ghat in Ayodhya. We will provide snacks in the morning and meals for lunch and dinner. The devotees will get a taste of Gujarati cuisine," said Milind Vaidya, a trustee. "We held four to five meetings with the local authorities. We will start our operations on Jan 26 and continue for 20 days."
Sant Swami of the Vadtal Swaminarayan Temple said they have been provided space near the Ayodhya bypass road.
"We have made representations, demanding space near the temple or inside the town so that we can reach more devotees. We will continue our services till Feb 28 and the devotees will be provided three meals a day," he said, adding it was a matter of pride for them to have been chosen for the event.
The
Jalaram
temple in Gujarat's Virpur has been offering Rajbhog and meals at the Ram Mandir for the past five years since the foundation stone was laid. Bharat Chandrani, an official at the temple, said they are readying about 1 lakh packets of magas as prasad which will be distributed among the devotees on the day of the consecration ceremony. "The sweet can be consumed 25 days after the making and so the devotees can also take them home," he said.
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