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A not-so-divine controversy has cropped up over what exactly be given as ‘prasad’ to the devotees who throng the Ambaji temple in north Gujarat, an important pilgrimage spot visited by lakhs of people every year.
For several decades, people visiting the Ambaji Temple in Banaskantha district bordering Rajasthan have received ‘Mohanthal’ as ‘prasad’ and have also carried dozens of small packets of the sweet dish for friends and relatives back home.
Suddenly from this month, the temple authorities have stopped the production and distribution of ‘Mohanthal’, a Rajasthan origin sweet dish. Instead, devotees are now given ‘chikki’ as ‘prasad’ from the Ambaji Temple trust.
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While discontinuation of ‘Mohanthal’ has rendered jobless around 300 local women who were engaged in preparation and packing of the sweet dish, the contract for supply of ‘Chikki’ has gone to a trader based in Kalol of Mehsana district.
The ‘Chikki’, a popular candy made of peanuts and jaggery, would be supplied by Nandini Gruh Udyog as per orders received from the temple trust.
Many devotees have objected to the replacement of ‘Mohanthal’ by ‘Chikki’ as ‘prasad’ from the Ambaji Temple.
The Opposition Congress has smelt a rat in the whole affairs of introducing ‘Chikki’ which, they say, would pave the entry of big corporates at the expense of local women who made ‘Mohanthal’ for ages.
The Banaskantha district administration has washed its hands off the controversy by saying that the decision about ‘prasad’ is the sole prerogative of the temple trust.
Posters have come up at many places demanding that ‘Mohanthal’ should be re-introduced as Ambaji ‘prasad’ even though ‘Chikki’ too can be an additional item.
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