AP: Why ghee with private dairies?

Ghee supplied by private farmer dairy price per kg Rs.385
What is the quality of prasads prepared with these?
Officials of many temples who sidelined branded dairies have no
quality tests.

Visakha Dairy, a cooperative sector, used to supply ghee to the Simhachalam temple at a price of Rs.591 per kg. Meanwhile, private companies and dairies have quoted in tenders that they will supply ghee at the rate of Rs.385 per kg. The authorities should know the quality of the ghee supplied at Rs.206 per kg. 

• Vijayawada Kanakadurgamma Temple has been buying ghee from Vijaya Dairy of Krishna Milk Union for making prasadam for a long time. The price is Rs.585 per kg. In the Dwarakathirumala temple of Eluru district, instead of Vijaya Dairy, ghee is being procured from a private dairy called Vaishnavi through an agency. They are paying Rs.572 per kg. Officials have no answer as to why they are not taking branded Vijaya Dairy ghee which is available at almost the same price.

Many doubts are being raised about the quality of the ghee being bought for making prasadam in many major temples of the state. Apart from branded co-operative dairies, tons of ghee is being bought from private dairies. Criticism is coming that the authorities of some temples have compromised on the quality of prasad and are enslaved to private dairies. In the past ghee of Visakha, Krishna Vijaya Dairy, Guntur Sangam, Kurnool Cooperative Society Dairy Vijaya Brand, Nandini Dairy in Karnataka was used for prasad in major temples. Suspicions are being raised about buying ghee from private dairy in the name of low price during Vaikapa government.

Appanna temple at low price..

The Simhachalam Appanna temple in Visakhapatnam used to get ghee from the Vijaya Visakha Dairy within that city for a long time. In the first three years of the previous government, ghee was purchased from that dairy at Rs.591 per kg. In 2022-23, a company called Premier Agrotech Foods from Uttar Pradesh won the tender for Rs.393 per kg and supplied ghee. In 2023-24, a company named Suryakumari Agencies from Visakha supplied ghee at a price of Rs.529 per kg. In the tender called for the current year 2024-25, Rythu Dairy of Eluru district has won the tender at a price of Rs.385 per kg and is supplying ghee. That means, compared to Vijaya Visakha Dairy, the price of ghee supplied by Premier Agrotech and Rythu Dairies is about Rs.200 per kg less.

Same dairy.. but more expensive

Rythu Dairy, which is supplying ghee to Simhachalam temple at the price of Rs.385 per kg, is supplying it to the Annavaram temple at the price of Rs.538 per kg. It is surprising that the same company supplies ghee to two temples with a difference of Rs.153 per kg. Actually, from April 2019 to September 2022, Sangam, Visakha and Krishna Vijaya dairies supplied ghee to the Annavaram temple at the price of Rs.430-480 per kg. From October 2022 Rythu entered the dairy sector. Since then, every six months it has been supplied at prices of Rs.498, Rs.564 and Rs.540 per kg. Presently it is supplying at the price of Rs.538. It is not clear what is the motive behind Annavaram temple authorities favoring Rythu Dairy instead of Visakha, Krishna Vijaya Dairies and Sangam Dairies.

Same situation in other temples.

• At Dwarkathirumala Temple Vijaya bought Visakha Dairy ghee. From June 2022 till now Vaishnavi Dairy ghee is being taken by Vinayaka Agencies. They are paying Rs.532 per kg.
• Sumathi Traders of Tirupati has been supplying ghee to Srikalahasti and Kanipakam temples for five years. Although it supplied ghee to Nandini and Vijaya Dairy in the past, Vaishnavi Dairy has been supplying ghee for a long time. It is supplying to Srikalahasti temple at a price of Rs.573 per kg and to Kanipakam temple at a price of Rs.555 per kg. Although Vijaya and Nandini dairies are selling ghee at almost the same prices, the authorities of these two temples are giving jai to private dairies.

Any own labs?

The annual income of major temples in the state ranges from a minimum of Rs.60 crores to a maximum of Rs.200 crores. Lakhs of devotees come for darshan and buy prasads. A large number of devotees take Annaprasad. However, if there are no labs to test the quality of the goods bought for the respective temples, it is clear how much carelessness there is in the Devadaya department. If some monopolists who have been entrenched for years supply any goods, there are more officials who take it as a blessing. In some temples, food inspectors are checking once in two or three months. In some other temples, if the monopolists give a quality certificate from private labs, that is being considered.

Even if the temple chairman himself complained, no action was taken

In October 2022, the then chairman of the temple, Reddyvari Chakrapani Reddy, complained to the then CM, Devadaya Minister and the commissioners of the department that the goods bought for laddu prasadam and annadanam in Srisailam temple were not of good quality. Compared to other major temples, they are buying goods at high prices and they are of poor quality. A few days later, the then Devadaya Minister Kottu Satyanarayana, who went to the Srisailam temple, hid the matter by saying that the owner cannot be changed at this time and that the quality of the goods will be examined.

How to supply at low cost?

How is ghee being supplied to Simhachalam temple at a lower price than the price being supplied to Annavaram temple? How much quality is there? Devadaya Commissioner Satyanarayana asked. He held a video conference with the EOs of all major temples on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Rythu Dairy questioned the EOs about the huge difference in the price of ghee supplied to Annavaram and Simhachalam temples. He inquired what kind of tests were done on their quality.