Now, ‘steaming-hot’ langar at Amritsar gurdwara

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 28

In a first, the SGPC has introduced steam boilers in the kitchen of the historic Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Sahib Baba Deep Singh at Chattiwind Chowk in Amritsar for the preparation of langar.

The steam boiler plant will not only cut the fuel cost by half but the mechanism also won’t emit heat or smoke in the langar preparation room.

Costing Rs 20 lakh, this plant has been installed by Sant Baba Kashmir Singh Bhuriwale at the gurdwara where langar is served 24x7 on the lines of the Golden Temple.

At present, one boiler has been set up that will supply steam to three vessels through specially designed pipes.

The steam boiler is a closed vessel on the surface of which stored water is heated till the time it is converted into steam at the requisite pressure.

Ram Singh Bhinder said that each vessel has the capacity to prepare 100 kg of dal at a time, besides identical quantities of vegetables with gravy, rice, kheer, besides milk and tea.

Another advantage is that the big vessels can be tilted by a handle, making it convenient to pour out the material.

Gurcharan Singh of the Mohali-based Bombay Engineering Company, which manufactured the plant, said that the fuel source here is wood, though it can be operated by diesel and LPG too.

“As wood is the cheapest source, it is recommended. Here, just three quintals of wood are required to feed lakhs of devotees daily. Estimates suggest that 300 kg of dal can be prepared in just one hour that took four hours by the traditional method,” he said. He said that a supporting boiler and three more vessels could be added later.

Another plus point in this cooking process is that when the cooking is under way, the outer part of the vessels remains at normal temperature due to the indirect heating method.

“The vessels never get heated from outside as the piping is well insulated. This will save volunteers from the heat and smoke that emerge during the traditional cooking method. Whatever smoke emerges will be absorbed by the water vapours in the 100-ft-long chimney,” he said.

Officials said the plant has been set up on an experimental basis and if successful, it may be introduced in other SGPC-run gurdwaras.