BHUBANESWAR: AMIDST the Tirupati laddu controversy, the focus is now on the ghee being used in cooking prasad at the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and Ananta Basudev temple in Bhubaneswar.
While Srimandir procures OMFED ghee for cooking ‘Mahaprasad’ and lighting lamps outside every temple within the shrine complex, the supply isn’t regular. On Tuesday, Puri collector and the temple deputy chief administrator Siddharth Shankar Swain said samples of ghee being used in Srimandir for cooking Kotha Bhoga and Baradi Bhoga will be sent for test to check if there is any adulteration.
“Although only OMFED ghee is brought to the temple from wholesalers and retailers, the supply is irregular at times. This is when ghee of other brands has to be used. While it is as per government instruction that OMFED ghee is being used, one cannot be sure of the quality of other brands that are used at times,” said Narayan Mahasuara, a member of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog of the temple.
On average, 400 to 500 tins of ghee - each tin weighing 15 kg - are used in the temple kitchen to cook food for 50,000 to 60,000 people every day. Narayan said streamlining supply of ghee and lifting the stock directly from OMFED godowns will be discussed at the next meeting of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog, scheduled this month.
“Now since the ghee is procured through wholesalers and retailers, we do not get any subsidy. We will seek subsidy from OMFED if we lift the stock directly from their godowns,” he added.
For lighting of lamps inside the shrine, the SJTA had asked OMFED to supply pure ghee because other brands released black smoke that affected the temple stone.
However, at Ananta Basudev temple in Bhubaneswar where ‘prasad’ is also cooked for at least 10,000 devotees every day, OMFED ghee is used only on some occasions for cooking. “Unlike Puri temple, there is no order from the government for use of OMFED ghee in cooking food in Ananta Basudev temple. This is the reason one can find other cheap brands of ghee being used for the purpose,” said a servitor.
There are 20 chullahs (wood-fired stoves) in the kitchen and as many shops in Ananda Bazaar of the temple where prasad is cooked and sold to devotees. The kitchens are owned by 25 members of Suara Nijog, but at least 700 Nijog members eke out living from the temple kitchen.