Milk for children waiting in queue

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple has started offering cow milk to its tourists and pilgrims.

Its Joint commissioner N. Natarajan said the initiative began on December 29 last year. “I noticed that some children standing in queue cry while proceeding to worship the deity. Parents said they were hungry. We decided to give excess milk got from the cows in the temple to these children.”

At least 100 children, below the age group of three, receive 100 to 150 ml of milk. Milk is mainly used for abishekam in temples. Ten to 20 litres of excess milk, which was normally donated to people outside the premises, is given to infants. This is the first time a temple has taken such an initiative, says a source.

He said that parents had welcomed the initiative. “A big container with hot water and milk are placed near the long line leading to the presiding deity. As several glasses are placed near the line, people can use the hot water and the milk to feed their children,” he says.

Tourists express the hope that this initiative is replicated in other temples too.