Patna: The Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib continues to serve langar to thousands of people daily despite the statewide LPG cylinder shortage. Gurdwara officials said to feed such a large number of people, at least 20-25 cylinders are required every day. When the crisis began, the officials spoke to their vendors and senior administrators to ensure a steady supply of cylinders so that the langar service would not be affected due to the ongoing West Asia crisis.Guruvindar Singh, vice president of the gurdwara, said, “The number of locals coming in for langar has substantially increased since the crisis began. People are coming in from all backgrounds and religions.” He added that the quantity of food prepared has increased as more people are arriving for meals. He also thanked the govt for helping during the crisis and ensuring there is no shortage of LPG cylinders at the gurdwara.Among those arriving for meals are residents directly affected by the supply disruption. Ramesh Kumar, a resident, said, “I have been trying to book a refill for several days, but the system is not accepting any new bookings, and we have no way to cook at home.” Similarly, another local, Suman Kumari, said, “My delivery has been delayed for more than three days, and we have completely run out of gas, so we have come here for our meals.”Tejender Singh, langar in-charge at the gurdwara, said, “Before the crisis, 20-25 thousand people used to come on average, but since the shortage began, 25-30 thousand people have started to come in. Directly proportionate to this, the number of cylinders required daily earlier was around 18, but now at least 20-22 household cylinders are needed daily to feed all those coming in.”He added that for lunch alone, more than two quintals of rice and 100kg of lentils are cooked along with roti, sabzi and a sweet dish. The same is repeated for dinner, while breakfast and snacks have different menus. He said the menu is rotated and a variety of dishes is served to those coming for langar. “The kitchen operates from 6am to 5am and remains open for 22 hours. Continuous langar is provided to all those who walk in; it only shuts down for two hours a day for cleaning,” Tejender Singh said.
