GPS, electric locks: Nandini ghee for Tirupati temple gets security boost

Amid a massive road over the presence of animal fat in the Tirupati laddoos used to make the prasadam, Karnataka Milk Federation’s Nandini ghee, which recently resumed supplying ghee for making the laddoos, has increased security measures for the ghee being transported to Tirupati temple.
Sources from the Karnataka Milk Federation said that they will install GPS and electric locking systems in the ghee tankers going to the Tirupati temple to ensure that the ghee cannot be tampered with.
The electric lock can only be opened by an official from the temple board with an OTP.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board has resumed sourcing Karnataka Milk Federation’s Nandini ghee for the laddoos recently, following Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s directive to improve its quality.
Nandini, which is a household name in Karnataka, had been supplying ghee to TTD till last year, when the then Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government stopped sourcing the Nandini ghee, after nearly 15 years of association, over pricing issues.
Sources said, “There is no scope for adulteration or usage of substandard materials in Nandini products. We couldn’t win the bid for supplying ghee for the Tirupati laddoos last year as we didn’t want to supply our products at cheap prices.”
Headquartered in Bengaluru, Nandini has supplied over 4,000 metric tonnes of ghee to the Tirupati temple since 2013.
Notably, amid the row over the Tirupati laddoo, the Karnataka government also directed the temples in the state to use only Nandini ghee for their prasadams.
Bheema Naik, KMF’s chairman, thanked the Karnataka government for its decision and said, “I’m very happy that not just Tirupati temple, but all Karnataka temples will use Nandini ghee… We are getting ready to increase the production of ghee to make sure we meet the demand.”
A cash-rich federation, Nandini sponsors the Indian Super League. It also sponsored the cricket teams of Ireland and Scotland during the T20 World Cup.