Bhubaneswar, July 15: Nothing, as it is said, can affect the Almighty. However, this time round, belying all beliefs, hike in prices of essential commodities has dealt a blow to the food business in city temples. Prices of cooked prasad served by temples have gone up substantially.

Six months back, while the ordinary meal per person was available at Rs 15, it has tou-ched Rs 25 now. Similarly, the price of special meals has tou-ched Rs 75. Mainly, Lingaraj and Anata Basudev temples in Old Bhubaneswar, Iskcon temple at Nayapalli, Maa Kali temple at Baramunda, Shani temple at Vanivihar, Shirdi Sai temple at Tankapani Road and Sriram temple at Unit 1 sell prasad to devotees.

Apart from these famous temples, a number of small temples have also started offering cooked prasad. Almost all the temple managements have agreed that the price rise has severely hit their business. “Because of the price hike, we have been forced to increase the price of prasad,” said Iskcon spokesperson Druba Maharaja.

Iskcon now offers two types of prasad to devotees. According to Iskcon officials, the prasad is served to nearly 700 persons daily. The Iskcon charges Rs 75 for the special and Rs 40 for ordinary meal. “The price of cooking gas, oil, vegetables and other essential items have increased over the years. There was no option except to hike the price of meals,” Maharaja said.

While the special dishes include mouth-watering items like pulao, puri, dal, kheer, two curries, two bhajis (fried ite-ms) and saag, the ordinary prasad comprises rice, dal, khata, khiri and sabzee. In other temples people sit on the floor to consume the prasad, while the Iskcon provides chairs and tables to eat comfortably. However, the Maharaj said that during special occasions, the temple distributes free prasad to devotees.

The two oldest temples in the state capital — Lingaraj and Ananata Basudev — in the old town area have also been badly hit because of the spurt in prices of daily essentials. On special occasions, more than 10,000 people avail of the prasad in the temples.

The intriguing part is that prasad is never cooked in gas ovens here. All food items are cooked on wood and earthen pots are used for this purpose. All those involved in the food business have admitted that they have been forced to hike the price of food items due to the escalating prices of essential items in the market. “The price per meal has been increased by at least Rs 10 over the last four months,” said Prasanna Kumal Panigrahi of Gandhi Garabadu shop.

Around 22 shops managed by the temple priests are into the food business. Paneer is never included in the items. While one can avail of an ordinary meal at Rs 25, the special meal is available at Rs 50.