Kadapa, Mar 09: A tanker carrying ghee to the holy Tirumala temple overturned after the driver lost control, causing locals to run away to collect the ghee.
The incident took place on National Highway 67 in Anantapuram village in Kondapuram mandal of Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. The driver and a cleaner were injured in the accident. Both were admitted to the hospital by the local police.
Meanwhile, local villagers who noticed the tanker overturning and ghee leaking from the tanker rushed to collect the ghee using buckets, bindi and cans they could find.
The incident has spread like wildfire to neighboring villages and a video of residents of different villages also rushing to collect ghee is now going viral on social media.
According to police sources, the tanker was coming from Pune to Tirumala with 21,000 liters of ghee. But the tanker driver lost control on the national highway near Kondapuram in Kadapa district and overturned.
During this, the ghee leaked. The police tried their best to stop the villagers, but finally they called in additional personnel and stopped the ghee collection.
There is a huge demand for laddu prasad at the world-famous Tirumala temple. Ghee is important for the preparation of laddu prasad at Tirumala. Therefore, the Tirupati Tirumala temple management board imports ghee from various parts of the country, including Nandini, Karnataka.
The ghee coming from various dairies is tested and stored at Tirumala. Later, they are used for the preparation of laddu prasad.