‘Low quality of ghee used at Simhachalam temple’

Visakhapatnam : With disturbing facts emerging out of incorporation of substandard ghee in the making of Tirumala laddu, the supply of ghee that gets into ‘prasadam’ preparation in other temples garners larger attention.

As there is no standard mechanism in place to look into the quality standards of the ghee used at Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam, the ghee from the same contractor continues to be incorporated in the ‘Neivedyam’ preparations at the Devasthanam.

At times when any difference was traced in the quality, the temple officials used to send the samples collected to Regional Public Health Laboratory at Peda Waltair to analyse the quality. But, nothing much has been done beyond occasional checks.

Like Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in Tirumala, the ‘prasadam’ offered at Simhachalam Devasthanam too has been receiving complaints in the recent past.

At Simhachalam Devasthanam, tenders for ghee are called for once in every six months. Like in other temples, here too, the contractor who quotes the lowest price strikes the deal. But what turns out to be intriguing is the absence of thorough quality check of the ingredients at the shrine.

In 2021, Sri Vijaya Visakha Milk Producers Private Limited of Visakhapatnam used to supply ghee for Rs 590 per kg.

Three years later, the tender was awarded to a contractor who quoted Rs.344 per kg of ghee.

Given the inflation in view, the temple officials, however, did not pay much attention to the drop in the price that has almost been halved.

In the retail market, a kilo of cow ghee ranges anywhere from Rs.700 to Rs.900. Apparently, the devotees flag concerns over how the temple could get authentic ghee at such a low cost for its prasadam preparations.

Meanwhile, on September 21 (Saturday), Bheemunipatnam MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao, food safety officer GV Appa Rao along with other officials visited the food store at the Devasthanam and checked the quality of ingredients used for making prasadam.

As part of the examination, samples of besan flour, tur dal, cashew nuts, ghee were sent to the Regional Public Health Laboratory. Based on the reports that emerged, it’s found that the ghee quality appears to be low. Following which, 945-kg of ghee was seized by the officials.

Devotees express concern over the ingredients used for prasadam preparation at the shrine and demand a detailed probe into the quality standards maintained at the Devasthanam.