50,000 stale laddus destroyed, says Bhadradri temple EO

Laddus that developed mold were destroyed on Monday and newly prepared laddus were being distributed for the last two days.

Kothagudem: Complicating the issue of alleged sale of stale laddus at Bhadrachalam Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple, its executive officer B Shivaji raised objections over a recent inspection conducted by the police at the temple’s kitchen.

Questioning what authority the police had over his office, he said he was answerable only to the Endowment Commissioner and also found fault with a reported order issued by the local court to the police to conduct inspections at the temple following complaints of selling stale laddus to devotees.

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Speaking to the media at Bhadrachalam on Tuesday, Shivaji wondered why the police were interfering with the matters related to the temple and said the local police inspected the temple’s potu (kitchen) when he was out of station. However, he said he was informed over phone by the police about the inspection.

He said as per the directions of top endowment officials, about 1.50 lakh laddus were prepared at the temple’s potu (kitchen) as large numbers of devotees were expected to attend Mukkoti celebrations at the temple.

One lakh laddus were sold on Mukkoti day and 50,000 laddus remained unsold and they were stocked for two days. Laddus that developed mold were destroyed on Monday and newly prepared laddus were being distributed for the last two days. No complaint was made by the devotees with regard to the issue, he maintained.

It might be recalled that the temple priests and staff staged a protest on the temple premises on Monday objecting to the local police’ inspection of the temple kitchen without removing their shoes.