Pathanamthitta: The distribution of aravana offertory, prepared without cardamom, began in Sabarimala on Thursday morning after Kerala High Court ordered on Wednesday to stop selling the batch that contains pesticide-laced spice.
Aravana is given to devotees of Lord Ayyappa Temple as an offering.
The preparation of aravana without cardamom started around 9.30 pm on Wednesday and the distribution started by 3 am on Thursday, reported Manorama News.
Devaswom officials said the new batch of aravana will not taste different from the earlier ones, as only a small quantity of cardamom is added in its preparation. The 10 counters of Sabarimala where 'appam' and aravana are generally distributed, are selling only aravana now due to the high demand after the unavailability on Wednesday.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the Travancore Devaswom Board to immediately stop aravana distribution, as a recent food safety authority report confirmed that the cardamom used for making aravana in Sabarimala has around 14 types of pesticides in them.
Either aravana should be made with quality cardamom after discussing with Spices Board, or the porridge can be made even without cardamom, said the court. The Devaswom bench of the court, which took up the case, will consider the case again after two weeks.
As per a Manorama News report, the High Court had sought a report on the quality of the spice based on a petition filed by Ayyappa Spices, an agency that used to supply cardamom for making aravana.
A report released by a food testing laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram found the presence of chemicals beyond the permissible limits in the cardamom used.
In the past, cardamom for aravana was supplied by the Kerala Forest Development Corporation's plantation in Gavi.
Last November, the Sabarimala Special Commissioner informed the High Court that there was a need to ramp up the production of aravana. The commissioner had also recommended the need to procure more quality cans for the purpose.
