KOLLAM: The ‘Lord’ of Tirupati is not pleased with the first load of cashews sent from here for making laddoos in the temple. The temple authorities rejected the load dispatched with much fanfare by the Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. (Capex), citing poor quality.
The consignment of five tonnes was flagged off by cashew minister J. Mercykkutty Amma from here on October 3.
It is learnt that the load contained substandard cashew and undesirable cashew dust that will affect the quality of laddoo made in the temple.
However, the load sent by the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) has been accepted by the temple. It has also expressed interest in purchasing 100 tonnes of cashew from the KSCDC. The second consignment of 10 tonnes will be sent next week.
The cashew was supplied at a rate of Rs 669 per kilogram. Capex MD S. Anil Kumar was not available for comment.
It is alleged that there is no facility for quality assurance in the Capex factories.
The deal was expected to strengthen the market intervention of public sector cashew units in the state which received an order for Rs 70 crore.
The KSCDC has to produce some three tonnes of kernels daily as per the order.
