| Sreekanteswaram Temple, Chaliyam, Kozhikode |
For the last 10 years, the water from the well at the Sreekanteswaram Temple, Chaliyam, Kozhikode, is the source and hope of a water-scarce neighbourhood consisting mainly of Muslim families. Water is supplied through a public tap attached to the compound wall of the temple.
If in the early years water was supplied during fixed intervals in the morning and evenings, during summer it is gifted during all hours. And it is a common sight in the simmering heat to find people from far away coming by vehicles to collect drinking water from the temple tap. It is an elevating sight to see the beneficiaries, including women and children, taking turns to collect water in a disciplined manner.
Being a coastal area, the declining water level in the wells during summer causes salt water intrusion from the sea. This makes potable water a scarce item in the neighbourhood. The temple trust’s intention of sharing water was to alleviate this scarcity of the people at least to some extent.
The temple also gifts uniform to needy children of LP and UP schools in selected schools of the Panchayat.
Courtesy:
Mathrubhumi, May 9, 2009
Contributed by: Administrator
