LUCKNOW: The first Bada Mangal bhandara was held on Tuesday with full fervour, offering more than just the traditional ‘poori sabzi.’ Nearly 3,000 stalls (both registered and unregistered) set up across the city provided various culinary delights for the devotees who thronged to get the ‘prasad’ despite the hot and humid weather.
To note, Bada Mangal is celebrateds on all Tuesdays of Jyeshtha month of the Hindu calendar and is an event unique to Lucknow.
Sharbat, bundi, ice cream, kulfi, cold drink, halwa, chana, poori-sabzi, fruits and packaged juice were offered at stalls at the 87-year-old Hari Sabha Mandir, a popular temple of Radha Krishna near Lal Kuan.
“It was nice to see that young and old, men and women along with their children queues to relish ‘prasad’,” said Purohit Tarak Nath Bhattacharya, organiser of the bhandara.
Jeera rice, sharbat, curry, kheer, chhole-chawal, mattha etc were also on offer at stalls set up in Hazratganj, Nirala Nagar, near Hanuman Setu, and in Vibhuti Khand among other places.
Coolers help beat the heat
Keeping the heat in mind, arrangements for coolers were made at various stalls for the devotees . A stall set up by Electric Safety at Vibhuti Khand kept a 6-ft-tall cooler giving relief to people queued up under the sun. Similarly, a bhandara stall set up by Arvind Kumar Mishra in Dalibagh had a tent with a cooler where over 5000 locals could eat bhandara.
{{/usCountry}}Keeping the heat in mind, arrangements for coolers were made at various stalls for the devotees . A stall set up by Electric Safety at Vibhuti Khand kept a 6-ft-tall cooler giving relief to people queued up under the sun. Similarly, a bhandara stall set up by Arvind Kumar Mishra in Dalibagh had a tent with a cooler where over 5000 locals could eat bhandara.
{{/usCountry}}WhatApp groups made for waste collection
Nearly 700 big bhandaras were set up in different parts of the city for the first Bada Mangal on Tuesday as part of Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s (LMC) aim to make it a zero-waste event.
While the registered bhandaras were contacted by the LMC officials to collect the waste, non registered bhabdara organisers preferred to collect their waste.
“About 689 people have registered to conduct bhandaras across the city through the Lucknow One App and the civic body’s help number,” said senior officials of LMC .
Municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh said, “All the arrangements to make the event zero waste have been made. All the organisers must put two bins for dry and wet waste. Our garbage disposal vehicles will be available to pick up the garbage.”
The bhandaras are likely to generate over 35,000 kg of waste, comprising mainly disposable plates and glasses made of leaves and plastic used for the distribution of prasad, snacks and cold drinks to devotees.
“We registered on the online portal and the Nagar Nigam contacted us by calling and making a WhatsApp group. Afterwards we were supposed to register on another site of the police where they gave us a proper receipt for registration,” said Chandini Rastogi of Vivekanand Hospital.
“When you register on the online portal, they ask you about the timings of the bhandara and accordingly come when it’s time and leave once they’ve cleaned the area,” said Ramesh Chand Gupta, who set up a stall at Baikeshwar Hanuman Mandir in Nirala Nagar.
While many opted for registration, many preferred to clean the waste on their own. “We did not register the bhandara on the online portal, as our sweepers will do the cleaning after the bhandara is over,” said Shivang Singh, who set up a stall at Sterling Apartments, University Road.