Milma ghee procurement likely to resume at Sabarimala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board is exploring the possibility of purchasing ghee from Milma again for Sabarimala. It is seeking legal advice and clearance from the State Vigilance Department. This comes amid the ongoing investigation into last year's ghee irregularities.

The Devaswom Board is planning to purchase 10,000 litres of ghee. The investigating team is of the view that Milma had no involvement in last year's irregularities. The malpractice occurred in the process of transporting the ghee purchased from Milma to Sabarimala. None of Milma's employees is an accused in the case. Milma had earlier stated that it was willing to supply ghee if the Devaswom Board approached it. The Board has also taken this into consideration. However, as the investigation into the irregularities is still underway, it has decided to seek Vigilance clearance and legal advice.

Milma did not participate in this year's tender. The tender was cancelled after it was found that the private firm which had quoted the lowest rate was involved in last year's irregularities. Although a fresh tender was invited, only one bid was received, and the rate quoted was considerably high. This has prompted the Devaswom Board to consider purchasing ghee directly from Milma.

The ghee brought by Ayyappa devotees will be used for preparing appam and aravana. The proposed purchase is intended as an alternative arrangement in case the required quantity of ghee is not available during the initial days of the pilgrimage season. The Devaswom Board currently has 10,000 litres of ghee in stock.

Officer to supervise appam and aravana production

An officer of Deputy Commissioner rank will be appointed to supervise the production of appam and aravana. Four Special Officers will be appointed at Sannidhanam to oversee the arrangements for the pilgrimage season. A senior officer will be assigned to supervise sanitation, while another Special Officer will oversee the annadanam and mess operations. An officer of Deputy Commissioner rank will be given charge of monitoring room bookings and prasadam offering counters.