Sabarimala ghee supply in custody; TDB starts negotiations with Milma

Aravana prasadam (file photo)

With barely a week left for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season in Sabarimala, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is once again turning to Milma to fill the ghee supply gap after two rounds of tenders failed to find suitable bidders.

The board called for tenders for 50,000 liters of ghee but failed to find suitable suppliers. Although Milma did not participate in the tender process, TDB held discussions with officials of Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union.

TDB president K. Jayakumar said the board was yet to take a final call to buy ghee from Milma for the production of Aravana and would seek legal advice before taking a decision on the matter.

Anticipated Shortage

He said the expected shortfall at the start of the season was only around 10,000 liters and there was no immediate reason to worry about availability. Ghee supplies were expected to increase after the temple opens on November 16, though a shortage could affect production by then. Preparations for the production of Aravana continue, with the board currently holding a stockpile of 30,000,000 tins. Arrangements are being finalized to produce 3.5 million cans per day.

“We are planning to produce another 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the coming days. The production of Appam will also be started in a limited time manner,” said Mr. Jayakumar.

Probe in progress

Milma’s possible return as a supplier comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into the supply of fake ghee to Sannidhanam in his name last season. The investigation found that the supplier entrusted with transporting the ghee diverted around 11,000 kg of Milma ghee meant for Sabarimala and replaced it with a cheaper product.

At the same time, the deadline for the completion of construction and other preparatory work, including pre-season maintenance, expires on Tuesday. Despite TDB’s claims that preparations are complete, sources said several works at Sannidhanam and Nilackal, including road reconstruction, remain incomplete and may take another week to complete.

Published – 09 Nov 2026 19:24 IST