Hyderabad: Ever wondered why the famous and iconic 'Tirupati Laddu' Prasadam has lost its taste and sheen these days? An in-house assessment in consultation with dairy experts by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the board that runs the world's richest Hindu temple, found that quality ghee has a major role to play in determining the taste of 'Srivari laddus'.
TTD did not have proper labs, and private labs did not properly test cheese quality in the last few years. To assess the quality of ghee, TTD has established a new sensory perception laboratory and is tutoring its staff at a quality training institute in Mysuru.
Incidentally, the Karnataka Milk Producers Federation (KMF) has resumed supplying its famous Nandini Ghee to TTD for the preparation of Srivari Laddus. KMF had previously failed to meet the tender guidelines and stopped supplying ghee to TTD for a few years. After resuming the supply, TTD received the first consignment of Nandini ghee on Wednesday.
TTD executive officer J Syamala Rao said a four-member expert committee has been set up to speed up the purchase of quality ghee which includes Dr Surendranath, Dr Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, Swarnalata, and Dr Mahadevan, who possess a vast knowledge in this area.
"We have called for tenders based on the guidelines and recommendations provided by the Committee, and we have given clear instructions to the tenderers that we will not compromise on the quality of ghee and will take serious action if they provide adulterated ghee. And they have to follow "sensory parameters", which is mandatory. With all these new guidelines, some old tenderers who supplied adulterated ghee earlier have not even participated," said Syamala Rao.
KMF stopped supplying Nandini Ghee
The halt in the supply of Nandini ghee to TTD caused controversy last year, with KMF chairman Bheema Naik stating that Tirumala Laddus would no longer be the same, as TTD had found a new company to provide the ghee for the laddu prasadam at a lower price.
“So, we had to stop the supply of Nandini ghee to TTD after many years. I can also assure you that Nandini provides the best ghee in the market and goes through all quality checks. I assume that any brand supplying ghee at a price lower than Nandini will compromise the quality," Naik stated, in July last year.
Every six months, TTD invites tenders for the supply of ghee. It procures at least 1,400 tonnes of ghee twice every year to make the iconic “Tirupati Laddu” Prasadam.
Stern action
TTD has recently issued a show cause notice to a company that has been supplying low-quality and adulterated ghee.
“After thorough verification and sending the ghee samples to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), it was found that the ghee provided by one of the five suppliers has not matched the standards and also supplied adulterated ghee. A show cause notice has also been issued for blacklisting the supplier for violating the tender norms. TTD has also warned the suppliers of stern action if they do not stick to the norms,” said Syamala Rao.
3.5 lakh laddus made daily; steps to check Laddu black market
TTD has also started streamlining the sale and checking the 'black marketing' of the sacred Srivari Laddu Prasadam. In a recent investigation by TTD, it was found that a few people had taken more than a thousand laddus and distributed them in a marriage in a city.
“Laddu should be treated as a holy Prasadam and not as a sweet. We noticed that a few middlemen were carrying laddus in multiple bags. According to the policy, pilgrims with darshan tokens receive one laddu for free and a sufficient quantity at Rs 50 each. However, we discovered that many pilgrims, lacking any Darshan tickets, were purchasing laddus in large quantities and reselling them on the black market. A few contract employees were also involved in this misappropriation. We have the data on such employees who are involved in this mischief, and we will take action against them," added the TTD executive officer.
Around 3.5 lakh laddus are produced every day, and it was found that around one lakh were being purchased by those who have no darshan tokens.
To streamline the Laddu distribution and also to check black marketing, TTD's additional executive officer, Ch Venkaiah Chowdhary, said, “To curtail this, we have decided that hencefort, devotees who do not have Darshan tokens can register their Aadhaar card at the Laddu counters and get two Laddus."
"For this, special counters have been set up in the Laddu complex. Devotees can get these laddus at counter numbers 48 to 62. We have not restricted anything else. Devotees with Darshan tokens or tickets shall buy additional laddus as before besides getting one free laddu. This system will enhance transparency in the Laddu distribution system," he added.