MANGALURU: Temples in Dakshina Kannada district, which receive thousands of devotees from across the country every day, have been forced to modify the manner in which they administer their ‘Anna Santarpane’ (mass feeding) programmes due to the pandemic.
Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala temple feeds about 15,000 visitors every day, but it still strictly follows the social distancing rule during meals. Veeru Shetty, personal assistant to temple administrator D Veerendra Heggade, said food is served on arecanut/patravali plates. “But there is strict physical distancing while having meals,” he said.
At Kateel Durgaparameshwari temple, food was earlier served on banana leaves, but that has now been replaced with steel plates. The temple, known for Yakshagana and mass feeding, installed industrial dishwashers at a cost of Rs 11 lakh.
Devotees who visit this temple return only after meals. A buffet system was introduced as per government SOPs and, initially after the lockdown was lifted, food was served on arecanut leaves. But a few weeks ago, the temple began using steel plates, replacing the traditional practice of using banana leaves.
The temple received about 17,000 steel plates as a donation from devotees and a private firm. “The reason for the switch is to ensure more cleanliness. There is also a poor supply of banana leaves,” said a source.
Kukke Subrahmanya temple has given up the buffet system and returned to the ageold practice of devotees squatting on the floor and eating.
Gopinath Nambisha, PRO, said the temple serves food twice a day (lunch and dinner) to nearly 20,000 devotees in banana leaves/patravali plates. The temple’s premises including dining halls are sanitised on a regular basis. “We plan to switch to steel plates soon,” he said.
Venkatesh G, assistant commissioner (in charge), muzrai department, Dakshina Kannada district, said introducing steel plates is a government plan to reduce and manage waste. Besides, it is also a cost- cutting measure since plates are a cheaper option than banana leaves.