The waves of mohanthal prasad kerfuffle at Ambaji made its way to Ahmedabad as Lal Darwaja-based Neelkanth Traders used to supply the alleged inferior ghee to Mohini Caterers who made prasad for devotees.

On the night of Oct 3, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) sealed the warehouse and godown of Neelkanth Traders.

Moreover, the municipality’s food and health department initiated a drive at Neelkanth Traders on the evening of Oct 4. The civic body also conducted raids in 17 different outlets in Kalupur and Madhupura markets and collected 13 samples of ghee for testing.

The officials issued notices to three outlets and seized 700.7 kg of ghee worth ₹4.67 lakh.

A new contractor

On the other hand, as per a statement issued by Ambaji temple trust - SAAMDT (Shri Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust), after the meeting on Oct 4, the Akshaya Patra Foundation was entrusted with the contract of preparing prasad at the temple for a period of six months.

The state spokesperson, Rushikesh Patel, said that Akshaya Patra, an initiative of ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness), has been awarded the contract for making the prasad of Ambaji temple.

The Kalupur trader sealed

After the news broke out that Neelkanth Traders of Ahmedabad was involved in the ghee adulteration of Ambaji prasad, the shop and the godown was sealed by the authorities.

However, owing to the absence of the owner, Jatin Shah, the team did not collect food samples from the shop.

As per the rules, there is a procedure involving the signatures of the owner to take the samples from the outlet. The additional medical officer of health, AMC, Dr Bhavin Joshi, said, “At the moment, the unit has been sealed and a notice has been issued; the owner of Neelkanth Traders, who is said to be Jatin Shah as per the sources, is not to be found.” 

Devotees’ dilemma

The revelation of the sub-par quality of ghee in the prasad at Ambaji temple in mohanthal and chikki has led to distress among the devotees.

The devotees complained that there is a lack of a proper system at the end of temple authorities that monitors the quality of prasad, and as a result, contractors have the audacity to serve adulterated prasad.

The agitated devotees concluded that the government seems to have given clean chit to the temple authorities without taking any action.

For more such updates and news on the go, follow us on

Instagram | YouTube | Facebook