A strange incident happened in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, when a tanker delivering ghee to the Tirumala temple overturned near the Chitravathi bridge in Kondapuram mandal. The tanker was hauling almost 21,000 litres of ghee from Pune to Tirupati to be mixed with the temple’s famed laddu prasadam. When the ghee spilled into nearby fields, local residents ran to the area, carrying buckets, bottles and containers to pick it up. Videos of this strange “ghee loot” went viral on social media.
The accident happened late into the evening when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle after crossing the bridge. Other reports say that from the wrong direction a car forced the driver to veer causing the tanker to overturn. The driver and cleaner suffered minor injuries, but the true show was the tremendous ghee spilling out into the fields. Within minutes, village folk assembled at the site, taking hold of ghee in whatever containers they could locate.
It was first noticed by locals living near the highway, who saw the tanker topple over and the ghee seeping into the soil. Word disseminated rapidly, and before long dozens of people were coming to pick up the ghee. Villagers filled buckets and bottles and laughed and shouted as they carried away the spilled product in footage. These clips circulated quickly on social media platforms and instantly made the accident a viral sensation.
The public reaction was mixed. The incident also struck many online users as comical, and some described it as one of the strangest highway crashes of recent memory. Memes and jokes about “free ghee distribution” circulated across Twitter and Instagram. Still others also cautioned about hygiene and safety, saying that ghee collected from muddy fields may not be safe. At first, devotees of Tirumala temple were afraid the accident affected the preparation of laddu prasadam but as soon after officials assured them sufficient ghee stocks were from other suppliers.
A case was registered at the police station after the incident, and investigators started looking into factors. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had assured the temple operation would not be affected, because supply of ghee from other vendors was sufficient. The authorities also reminded the public that getting lost goods from accident sites is unsafe and discouraged.
The Kadapa ghee tanker incident is a viral sensation, combining tragic tales with humor. Officials checked temple ceremonies for safety: While locals hurried to pick up the spilled ghee, authorities also inspected temple rituals. The incident underscores both the dangers of highway transportation and the way social media can make even the most mundane accidents have national resonance.
