Adulterated Ghee Was Supplied to Srisailam Temple Along With Tirumala Devasthanam: SIT

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) report identified that adulterated ghee was supplied to the Srisailam temple, along with the Tirumala temple, during the YSRC rule in Andhra Pradesh. Ghee supplied by the contractors is used in making laddus sold as prasadam to the devotees. From May 2022 to March 2023, adulterated ghee was delivered to Srisailam by Rajesh Corporation, which procured ghee from Bhole Baba Dairy, that supplied adulterated ghee to the Tirumala temple. The Srisailam temple, which usually buys ghee from the Vijaya Dairy, had bought 3,25,064 kg ghee from the Rajesh Corporation and paid Rs 15.89 crore. SIT sleuths said that the ghee supplied by Bhole Baba Dairy is not ghee but a mixture of vegetable oils and some chemicals. In the past, the Srisailam Temple Trust Board had taken a decision to purchase ghee from dairies run by the Srisailam Devasthanam Milk Societies. Accordingly, only those dairies operated by the Societies used to file tenders. As the Vijaya Dairy in Nandyal used to supply ghee at a cheaper price, the Temple Board used to give the ghee contract to the same organization. During the YSRC rule in 2022, the Devasthanam officials and Vijaya Dairy representatives had a conflict over the pricing. When the Temple Board asked the Vijaya Dairy to reduce the price further, the contractor made it clear that it cannot be done. Taking advantage of the situation, Rajesh Corporation offered to supply ghee at Rs 489 a kg and the tender was awarded to the organisation. There were allegations that Vijaya Dairy was removed as the supplier, according to a pre-meditated plan. Vijaya Dairy began supplying ghee to the Srisailam temple as usual from April 2023. On an average, over 1 lakh laddus are sold at the Srisailam Devasthanam.



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