Lord Vishwanath in Varanasi to get modular kitchen

Times are changing. The Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi will soon get a high- tech modular kitchen where food for Lord Vishwanath and his disciples will be prepared in a highly- hygienic condition. Kashi Vishwanath Temple ( KVT) chief executive officer A. K. Awasthi told reporters that a proposal worth ` 15 lakh is ready to convert the existing KVT kitchen into a high- tech modular facility.

Divisional commissioner R. M. Srivastava met temple officials on Tuesday to discuss the proposal and it has been decided to set up the modular kitchen after verifying the suitability of the existing kitchen building.

“There is a belief that nobody in Kashi sleeps with empty stomach because Goddess Annapurna ensures food for all. In line with this belief, Kashi Vishwanath and Goddess Annapurna temples here have been operating ‘ anna kshetras’ ( community kitchen) for centuries. We want to ensure that people who come to these ‘ anna kshetras’ are served healthy and hygienically-prepared food. The kitchens in the Annapurna temple have already been upgraded and now is the turn for Kashi Vishwanath temple,” he said.

The Kashi Annapurna Anna Kshetra Trust that governs the Annapurna temple next to KVT, already has ultra- modern kitchens. Annapurna temple mahant Rameshwar Puri said, “As the number of pilgrims and devotees who avail the facility of our ‘ anna kshetras’ is rather high, we felt the need to expand and mod- ernise our kitchens and we have followed the pattern adopted by the Shringeri temple in South India.” In 2000, the Trust engaged companies from Chennai and Coimbatore to install steam- plant kitchen in the “anna kshetra” of Annapurna temple.

In 2014, a more advanced steam plant was set up at the second “anna kshetra” located at some distance from the temple.