Devotees at Chamundi Hills to get packaged coconut water as prasada

MYSURU:  If everything goes as per the plan, the devotees of Sri Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hills in Mysuru will soon get packaged coconut water as holy prasada from the coconuts which they offer to the deity. The temple authorities are in talks with the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management - Thanjavur (NIFTEM - T) to set up its coconut water collection, filtration and packaging unit at temple premises.

The coconut water unit is an automatic device equipped with manual coconut breaking assembly, continuous filtration-cum-non-thermal UV -C sterilisation system, bulk chilling tanks and automatic cup filling unit.The temple which is one of the highest-revenue grossing Muzrai temples in the state is visited by lakhs of devotees every year. As most devotees break coconuts outside the temple in a designated place to offer their prayers to the deity where the fresh coconut water is getting wasted, the temple authorities have decided to have the unit at its premises.

NIFTEM - T scientist Anand M confirmed to TNIE that discussions are on to install the unit at the Chamundeshwari Temple. “We have already installed a unit at Punnainallur Mariamman Temple at Thanjavur. The cost of the unit is around Rs 7 lakh. The water which is purified can be filled in cups and packaged to distribute it to the devotees as prasadam. This technology will save the coconut water from being wasted and can be served to devotees,” he said.