BENGALURU: Amidst the controversy over using animal fat in temple prasada given at Thirumala temple in Tirupathi, the Karnataka government is all set to test prasada served to devotees at all major temples in the state, said Endowment minister Ramalinga Reddy.
Karnataka has over 34,000 endowment temples, of which 205 are Class-A temples with an annual revenue of over Rs 25 lakh, 193 are Class-B temples with a turn out between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, and the remaining are are classified as Class-C temples with a revenue of less than Rs five lakh. Many of these temples give prasada to the devotees after offering poojas.
Reddy told The New Indian Express that he is sure of no such incidents or usage of food items in Karnataka temples. “But people should not have any doubt, so we will order a test,” he said.
He added that they will also issue a circular to all the major temples attached to the State Endowment Department to use only Nandini ghee supplied by Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and not of any other brand. It can be noted for many years Karnataka has been supplying Nandini ghee to Tirupati for making laadus.
It can be noted that Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi had urged the Congress-led Karnataka government to test prasada given at various temples in Karnataka.