Thiruvananthapuram: Travancore Devaswom Board President K. Jayakumar expressed deep anguish over the ongoing controversies surrounding Sabarimala during an interview with TwentyFour. He stated that the Devaswom Board bears responsibility regarding irregularities in ghee procurement, noting that mixing substandard ghee into the sacred ‘Aravana’ payasam is completely unjustifiable. He added that his board’s decision not to purchase ghee with money has now been proven right.
Jayakumar remarked that the reports emerging are deeply painful. “It is true that this ghee reached Sabarimala. The supply order was placed with Milma. Whether the tested quality matches the delivered stock needs thorough investigation. This is not something we directly handle; we requested ghee from Milma, they supplied it, and there was Food Safety clearance as well. Hence, I do not consider it a direct failure on the Board’s part,” he said, adding that Milma must resolve its own supply chain issues.
He further clarified that he had previously investigated why ghee had to be purchased from Milma in the first place, maintaining that the Board did not deliberately lapse. “When we speak of a lapse, who is the ultimate sufferer? If low-quality ghee arrived, it was mixed into our Aravana. That is completely wrong and should never have happened. In any case, I raised the question as to why ghee was purchased this year, given there is no shortage of ghee at Sabarimala. Going forward, there will be no question of buying ghee with money at Sabarimala,” Jayakumar asserted.
ലഘു വിവരണം (Malayalam)
ശബരിമലയിൽ അരവണ നിർമ്മാണത്തിന് ഗുണമേന്മ കുറഞ്ഞ നെയ് ഉപയോഗിച്ചത് നീതീകരിക്കാനാവാത്ത തെറ്റാണെന്നും വലിയ മനപ്രയാസമുണ്ടാക്കുന്ന കാര്യമാണെന്നും തിരുവിതാംകൂർ ദേവസ്വം ബോർഡ് പ്രസിഡന്റ് കെ. ജയകുമാർ പറഞ്ഞു. മിൽമയിൽ നിന്ന് നെയ് വാങ്ങിയ സംഭവത്തിൽ അന്വേഷണം വേണമെന്നും ഇനിമേൽ പണം നൽകി നെയ് വാങ്ങില്ലെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം വ്യക്തമാക്കി.
with inputs from MN
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