How much cow ghee is consumed for Tirumala temple’s laddus, lakhs of tonnes go into the air

Tirupati Laddu Row: The controversy over the Prasad (laddu) of Tirupati Balaji temple of Andhra Pradesh is deepening. The supplier of cow ghee has been changed after allegations of making laddus from adulterated and contaminated ghee. Now the purchase of ghee of a brand from Karnataka has started. It is alleged that when the rate of ghee in the market was Rs 500 per kg, poor quality ghee was purchased at the rate of Rs 319 per kg.

Earlier, suppliers from Gujarat and Rajasthan used to supply ghee, but after the controversy arose, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has been asked to supply ghee. KMF used to supply ghee earlier as well, but later it stopped supplying after the contract was given to some other supplier.

Know about purchase of Ghee in Tirumala Temple

20,00,000 (20 lakh) kg of cow ghee with Agmark Special Grade was procured through tankers from dairies across the country for a period of six months across the country.

Similarly, 10,00,000 (10 lakh) kg of cow ghee with Agmark Special Grade was procured through tankers within a radius of 1,500 km from Tirumala for a period of six months.

At the same time, 500,000 (5 lakh) kg of cow ghee with Agmark Special Grade was purchased through tankers for a period of six months from dairies located within Andhra Pradesh.

90,000 kg of cow ghee with Agmark Special Grade was procured through tins from dairies across the country for a period of six months.

What is the controversy?

In fact, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that during the previous government, fish oil and animal fat were used to make Tirupati Prasad i.e. Laddus. Later, when the investigation was done in the lab of Gujarat, this was confirmed. It has come to light that Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had issued a tender on 12 March 2024 which was finalized on 8 May. A dairy in Tamil Nadu got this order. This company had quoted the price of pure ghee at Rs 319 per kg.

The temple trust prepares more than 3 lakh laddus every day, in which 10 thousand kilos of ghee is used every day. This company also supplied ghee in 10 tankers. Out of these, 6 tankers have already been used.

Also read: When, how and who committed apostasy? Read the entire ‘sinful story’ of Tirupati’s Laddu