Food grains donated for community kitchens reach Ayodhya

Ayodhya (UP) : Large quantities of food grains and other essential items have started reaching the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the 45 community kitchens that it plans to run in Ayodhya to provide free food to around 25,000 devotees daily from January till mid-March.

These items are being sent by devotees from across the country. All the essential items that have been received are being stored at Ramsevakpuram.

The community kitchens will start functioning by the end of this month even as the Trust is expecting around two to four lakh people to turn up in Ayodhya every day after Ram temple is opened for devotees on January 23, a day after the consecration ceremony.

These items started pouring in after the Trust issued an appeal in October, asking people to donate flour, wheat, pulses, mustard oil, spices and medicines to the Trust that will be used for devotees coming to Ayodhya for the opening ceremony of Ram temple.

According to the Trust, it has received tea and spices from Assam and South India, rice from several parts of Uttar Pradesh, sugar from Kanpur and Gonda, rice from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

Around 3000 volunteers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh will reach Ayodhya by December 20 and will be handed over responsibilities for events related with the consecration ceremony.

Sharad Sharma, regional spokesperson, VHP, said, “Devotees from all across the country are sending food grains, tea, spices and other items to the Trust by their own resources. They are being stored at Karsevakpuram and Ramsevakpuram.”

According to Diwakar, in charge of the storage facility at Ramsevakpuram and Karsevakpuram, around 500 VHP cadre will be engaged to run community kitchens.

The Trust is also receiving requests from all over the country from people seeking permission to run community kitchens and other services for devotees who will turn up in Ayodhya.

“The Trust will run 45 community kitchens to serve free food to devotees who will turn up in Ayodhya after the opening ceremony of Ram Mandir,” Sharma added. In his appeal, Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, had stated that from January 15 to February 25, around 50 lakh devotees are expected to turn up in Ayodhya.

The Maharishi Sandipani Ram Dharam Gaushala in Jodhpur has donated ghee for the grand opening ceremony of Ram Mandir.