Tirupati animal fat row fail to deter devotees; temple sells 3.50 lakh laddus daily

The bitter political row that has broken out over the alleged use of animal fat in the Tirupati laddu in Andhra Pradesh, is clearly not affecting the sales of this sweet prasad considered holy by the devotees flocking to the popular Sri Venkateshwara Temple.

According to the temple administration, 3.50 lakh Tirupati laddus continue to be sold daily on an average.

In the last four days itself, 14 lakh Tirupati laddus have been bought by devotees. For instance, on September 19, the temple sold 3.59 lakh laddus, 3.17 lakh laddus on September 20, 3.67 lakh laddus on September 21, and 3.60 lakh laddus on September 22.

Despite lab reports from Anand in Gujarat showing the presence of animal fat and lard in the laddus, devotees seem blissfully unmoved and unshaken in their faith on the temple and believed that the controversy over the Tirupati laddus are a "thing of the past now", said news reports.

Around 3 lakh laddus continue to be churned out daily. The laddus, which are made out of Bengal gram, cow ghee, sugar, cashews,raisins, and almonds, use a staggering 15,000 kg of cow ghee.

A few days ago, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stirred up a huge controversy when he alleged that the ghee used to prepare Tirupati laddus during the earlier YS Jagan Mohan Reddy rule had animal fat. After the uproar, a Special Investigation Team was formed by the state government to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleging that Naidu is a "pathological and habitual liar", said the TDP was trying to politicise religious matters.

The temple authorities organised a purification ceremony to restore faith in the temple's sacred offerings. This ritual is meant to cleanse the premises and reaffirm the temple’s committment to maintain the sanctity of its prasad.