TTD asks KMF to supply more ghee to prepare Tirupati laddus
Bengaluru: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust has restarted sourcing the cow ghee ‘Nandini’, manufactured by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), following the recent outbreak of a controversy alleging the use of adulterated ghee containing animal fat in the Tirupati laddus.
While the trust had been using only ‘Nandini’ ghee produced by KMF for decades, the last few years had seen private dairies being awarded contracts to supply ghee to TTD to prepare the laddus. In the aftermath of the controversy, which affected the trust severely, however, TTD opted to restart the procurement of pure cow ghee from KMF, reports Times of India.
KMF was awarded tenders to supply 350 tonnes of ghee to TTD during the next three months and sent its first consignment from Bengaluru to Tirumala on September 20. As the TTD used up to 250 tonnes of the cow ghee in the production of laddus already, it has asked KMF to send an additional 250 tonnes of the ghee to Tirumala.
MK Jagadish, Managing Director of KMF, has confirmed that KMF received the request from TTD for ghee on Thursday and clarified that, as per the latest tender, the supply of additional ghee would be made at the same cost. The TTD was currently paying Rs 475 per kg of ghee to KMF. He also said that the corporation had a stock of about 7,500 tonnes of ghee and was equipped to supply as much as required to TTD at present.
To ensure the safe delivery of pure cow ghee to TTD, the KMF has installed GPS trackers on all its tankers transporting the product to Tirumala, the MD said.
The TTD Executive Oficer J Syamala Rao, who stressed that the trust would not compromise on the quality of ghee, said that the KMF would be asked for more ghee if necessary. The officer added that fresh tenders were being floated for additional ghee supply for preparation of the Tirupati laddus.
As the Karnataka state government has mandated the use of ‘Nandini’ ghee for preparation of the offering (prasada) and other food items given to devotees, KMF is now flooded with orders from several religious institutions and temples across the state. In addition, the KMF is supplying 2,500 tonnes of ghee for retail and other purposes, said KMF MD Jagadish. The Federation has additionally stocked up 6,000 tonnes of butter to cater to a possible hike in demand in the domestic market and is confident of not falling short of ghee supply at any point in time, the MD added.
KMF sources raw material only from the milk unions of the Kolar-Chikkaballapur region for Nandini ghee, which was popular on account of its viscous quality, purity, and distinct aroma. It had been the only choice of TTD used in the preparation of the Tirupati laddus, till the trust handed contracts to other firms too, recently.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
