TIRUCHY: At the Ranganathar Swamy temple in Srirangam, a sacred tradition, introduced by late chief minister J Jayalalitha on 12 September, 2012, fills the tummies of over several million devotees. Nearly one crore devotees, since the inception of 'Naal Muzhuvathum Annadhanam' - the scheme dedicated to serve free meals at the temple - have benefited from the initiative.
As per data sourced from HR&CE Department officials, around 3,000 to 3,500 have had been served meals for free per day at the temple since 2012. According to sources, a total of 86,02,409 devotees have benefited from the scheme since its inception. A major devotional place in south India, the Srirangam temple witnesses devotee footfall in lakhs every month.
According to an official from the temple administration, the temple has been consistently striving towards adhering to the needs of devotees. The scheme, a success story quite popular now, is one such attempt. R Kamatchi, a devotee from Kanniyakumari who offered prayers at the temple along with 12 of her family members, said, "We visited the temple to offer prayers as a family and the annadhanam scheme has been beneficial both economically and in terms of devotional aspects."
In 2002, around 200 devotees were given meals for free every day through a similar initiative, sources said. It was started based on a GO released by the HR&CE Department. Ten years later, Jayalalitha expanded the initiative to a full-fledged scheme that benefited devotees on a large scale. S Marimuthu, the Joint Commissioner of the HR&CE department, told TNIE,
"We are extremely proud of the scheme's outcome. We have been ensuring quality food for the devotees. Although we get funding from the State government, we want more devotees to come forward and contribute. Every year, around Rs 3.5 crore is spent for the scheme. Many a time, we have faced a shortage of funds, and that is why we urge the devotees to contribute too."