Ambalappuzha Palpayasam to cost Rs 100 a litre

ALAPPUZHA: The famous Ambalappuzha palpayasam offered at the Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Swami temple will become dearer to devotees from Tuesday onwards. The price has been increased to Rs 100 from Rs 60 per litre and limited the preparation of the payasam to 150 litres per day.  Since 2009 the price has been increased by 200 percent by the temple administrative committee.It has also been decided to distribute the payasam in tin cans of half and one litre. The administrative committee meeting held last month had decided to call a tender for the supply of tins.Since the temple comes under the Travancore Devaswom Board, the adminstrative committe is selected by the board for the temple management and any decision it takes will only be after an approval from the High Court of Kerala. Administrator Rama Varma said: “The price of the palpayasam was increased only after the consent from the High Court. The court also directed to limit the preparation of the payasam to 150 litres per day and sell it in one litre and 500 grams tins. We will call a tender for the supply of tins this week.”“Earlier the temple served 300 to 350 litres of payasam per day. Earlier there used to be bookings from devotees for the payasam.  On holidays,  Saturdays and Sundays, the bookings were high,” said Varma. “The new direction given from the court will limit the distribution of payasam from 500 grams to a maximum of one litre,” he added. Till now the payasam was distributed at four to five litres per head.   The ingredients of the palpaysam comprises of milk, raw rice and sugar. Varma said the unique taste of the payasam is the water from the mani kinar (well) used for making the payasam. At the same time RSS and other Hindu organisations protested against the hike in price and tin packing. RSS district Seva Pramukh Bineesh said, “We oppose the move of the Devaswom Board in commercialising the Ambalappuzha palpayasam. For centuries, there was a religious fervor behind the distribution of payasam at the temple.“Now the authorities are trying to make profit through the offerings. Till 2009 the price was only  Rs 32 per litre. Later it was increased to Rs 60 and now to Rs 100 per litre.  The selling of payasam in a tin can is yet another move to commercialise it,” Bineesh said. RSS staged a dharna near the temple against the move on Tuesday.