Thanks to overwhelming support from patrons, the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam is serving free meals ( annadanam ) to at least 5,005 devotees a day.
The annadanam scheme, which was launched on January 1, 1991 with a fixed deposit of just Rs. 15 lakh, made rapid strides in course of time. The Devasthanam used to serve free meals to as many as 60 persons a day in the beginning.
Devotees turning up at the annadanam hall scales up during Dasara and Bhavani Deeksha Viramana.
As many as 1,03,205 devotees contributed to the scheme by donating Rs. 29.91 crore during the last two-and-a-half decades. “It speaks volumes of their trust in Goddess Kanaka Durga and the annadanam scheme,” says Executive Officer Ch. Narsing Rao.
The temple issues donor passes to devotees who have contributed more than Rs. 1 lakh for the scheme.
Four persons are allowed to have darshan on each donor pass.
The donations have been turned into fixed deposits to meet future requirements. As of now, there are 70 fixed deposits in various banks.
The temple received donations worth Rs. 6.78 crore in 2013-14, while it was Rs. 1.98 crore in 2009-10. The donations consistently increased over the past few years. While it was Rs. 2.96 crore in 2010-11, it went up to Rs. 4 crore in 2011-12. The donations touched Rs. 4.23 crore in 2012-13, Mr. Rao said.
Many devotees believe they should have anna prasadam at the temple after darshan.
More than 75,000 devotees visit the annadanam complex in a year, Assistant Executive Officer (AEO) B. Venkat Reddy says. The temple spends Rs. 24 per head to provide a free meal comprising dal, curry, chatni, sambar, butter milk, pulihora and rice, he says.
Endowments Minister P. Manikyala Rao recently asked to us provide free meals to 20,000 devotees a day. The temple administration is working in that direction.
