Varanasi: The city’s famous Goddess Annapurna’s ‘Annakshetras’ (food courts), which feed approximately 25,000 people daily, was shut temporarily on Saturday due to LPG shortage. For the first time, ‘Annakshetras’ (food courts) of the 300-year-old Annapurna temple have shut down after the last stock of LPG ran out.The management said the food courts will remain closed till further arrangements are made.“The decades-old ‘Annakshetras’ operate with a vow – never stop serving prasad, no matter what… Our kitchens operated even during the lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. This is the first time our kitchens have shut down,” said temple mahant Shankar Puri, adding they are exploring alternative arrangements, such as a diesel stove and coal, to restart food courts.“Kashi Annapurna Annakshetra Trust runs a food court in the vicinity of the Annapurna temple and feeds around 25,000 pilgrims, mainly from south India, seers, and also needy people every day. Our modular kitchens are operated with LPG and have been shut till arrangements are made,” said Puri.Around 3,000 pilgrims were fed before the kitchens closed on Saturday, but many seers heading to Ayodhya missed out.Despite the war in the Middle East triggering an energy crisis, the temple’s kitchens managed to get supplies from a couple of agencies till Thursday. However, things got tough on Friday morning when one of the kitchens had to shut down. Unit 1 kitchen managed to cook for about 3,000 people on Saturday morning using available LPG and old kerosene stock, but that is all it could do.While pilgrims and seers were disappointed due to the shutdown of Annapurna temple’s ‘Annakshetras’, Kashi Vishwanath Dham’s three ‘Annakshetras’ served prasad as usual. “We are running smoothly,” said KVT CEO Vishwa Bhushan Mishra.The three ‘Annakshetras’ of KVT are capable of serving 14,000 ‘thalis’ (platters) per day. However, food requirements, especially for thousands of pilgrims, seers, and needy people, have increased since the rejuvenation of KVD by the end of 2021.Temple’s daily footfall has skyrocketed – from 10,000-15,000 pre-2022 to over 1 lakh now, peaking at 3 lakh on weekends. On big days like Mahashivratri, Shrawan Mondays, and New Year, 5-8 lakh pilgrims flock to the temple, with thousands of them relying on ‘Annakshetras’ to keep their budget in check.
