Saturday, 21 September 2024
Saturday, 21 September 2024
Shop managers near the Tirupati temple are unaffected by claims of adulteration in the famed temple’s laddus that are offered as prasad for devotees. They expressed continued faith in the deity and said that they still trust the laddus offered by the temple.
The controversy erupted after Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous YSRCP government of allowing substandard ingredients and animal fat in the making of the sweet at the temple.
The government said that a recent laboratory analysis has found adulteration in four samples of ghee supplied to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in July 2024. The report from (CALF) (Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food) in Gujarat apparently found that animal fats such as lard and beef tallow were detected in the ghee samples.
“I am really hurt after knowing the news, I am not able to take it,” Balakrishna Chintala, 34, a store manager at CMR shopping mall in Tirupati, told The Telegraph Online. “Whether this is correct or incorrect news I don’t know but if this is correct then it is very wrong. I was born and brought up in Tirupati, I am very attached to the temple and Lord Venkateswara. I get a lot of customers in my shop because of the temple.”
He added: “I will 100 per cent take the prasad the next time I visit the temple, as I am attached to it.”
It’s a sentiment that most people in the temple town that The Telegraph Online spoke to echoed.
“This is completely fake news. Tirupati temple in Tirumala is the best temple, this is spreading after the election as it is a political agenda,” said Somasekar Reddy, 36, who works at a shop called Kalanikethan around 17 km from the Tirupati temple.
“The present CM and ex CM both are involved in this; otherwise, why did this news spread after elections? I was born in Tirupati, and I can say this is only for political gains. I am still attached to the temple. I visited the temple around 10 to 12 times every year when I was pursuing my degree. As I am working now, I visit the temple quarterly and now we also have to pay for the tickets. Earlier it was free darshan,” Reddy said.
The temple authorities have reportedly acknowledged that substandard ghee had been found and that they are in the process of blacklisting the contractor responsible for supplying the adulterated ghee.
The issue has sparked political controversy, with the previous government denying involvement and labelling the claims as "diversion politics."
“Recently, this news has spread, and I felt sad, Lord Venkateswara is a famous god and this is bad news. I do not believe the news at all as it is a rumour which has spread,” said Chiranjeevi Doodipati, 39, floor manager at Unlimited Fashion store Tirupati, around 35 km from the temple.
“I go to the temple every Saturday, I eat the laddus and there is no issue. Today also I will visit the temple by evening,” Doodipati said.
Union food minister Pralhad Joshi has called for an investigation into the matter. The Centre has also requested a detailed report from the Andhra Pradesh government.
Doctors caution that ghee adulterated with animal fats or other impurities can be harmful to health.
“Ghee adulterants can be of vegetable origin like hydrogenated fats in the form of vanaspati or animal fats like tallow, lard or wax. Additionally there can be colouring agents like coal tar dyes and neutralisers like various sodium compounds. They cause inflammation and calcification of arteries leading to coronary artery disease,” Dr Vikash Prakash, consultant, Manipal & Fortis Hospital, said.
“They have adverse effects on lipids with increase of bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease of good cholesterol (HDL). As far as coal tar dyes are concerned they contain heavy metals including aluminium compounds which are toxic to the brain,” he added.
In a recent social media post, the temple board declared: "The divinity and purity of Srivari Laddu is unblemished now. TTD is committed to protecting the holiness of Laddu Prasadam to the satisfaction of all the devotees."
