Kamal Ghorui
AMRITSAR: The LPG crisis triggered by the West Asia conflict has not yet slowed down the world’s largest community kitchen — the ‘Guru Ka Langar’ at Golden Temple that serves nearly 1 lakh devotees every day. The shrine’s management, which requires 25 LPG cylinders daily, is expecting a fresh delivery of 100 cylinders on Friday and has over 500 quintals of firewood in reserve in case of any contingency, said a spokesperson.At the world-famous shrine, the situation is being closely managed to ensure uninterrupted service. A senior functionary at the Golden Temple, Bhagwant Singh Dangar, said the shrine consumes around 25 LPG cylinders and 1,200 units of piped gas every day to run its massive kitchen operations. In addition to one lakh devotees being served langar daily, 36 quintals of ‘karah parsad’ (the sacred pudding) is also prepared every day.
Despite the crisis, Dangar said there is no immediate shortage of fuel supplies. “We are receiving regular supplies. Tomorrow, we are expecting a delivery of about 100 gas cylinders,” he said.
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However, the shrine management has also prepared a contingency plan. In case of any disruption in gas supply, the kitchen could switch to traditional cooking methods. “We have a reserve stock of 500–1,000 quintals of firewood, which can be used if required,” he added.The fuel situation has become a matter of concern not only for households but also for large commercial and religious establishments after the administration reportedly prioritised fuel supplies for domestic consumption and institutions.Apart from the Golden Temple, large numbers of devotees also visit nearby gurdwaras such as Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Sahib, Gurdwara Pipli Sahib, Gurdwara Toba Bhai Salho Ji and Gurdwara Guru Ka Mahal, where langar services also run daily. Meanwhile, Amritsar’s most prominent Hindu shrine, Durgiana Mandir, is also keeping a close watch on fuel supplies.General secretary Arun Kumar Khanna said the temple serves langar to nearly 10,000 devotees daily, while prasad is prepared regularly at the Bhog Bhandar. He said around 10 LPG cylinders are used in the Bhog Bhandar and another 6–8 cylinders for preparing langar each day. Like the Golden Temple, the temple management has also kept adequate stocks of firewood to ensure that food services continue smoothly even if gas supplies are delayed.
