Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 2 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his appreciation towards Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), terming the production of 1 crore litres per day as a milestone in the history of the dairy cooperative.
Siddaramaiah was addressing the media after offering pooja to cows as part of the celebration of one crore litre of milk production by KMF today.
The Chief Minister said that milk production in Karnataka was 90 lakh litres per day in June last year.
The Chief Minister recalled that earlier, when he was the Minister of the Animal Husbandry Department, he had handed over the dairy to the milk unions. Until then, the dairies and the milk unions worked as separate entities. Milk societies are also farmers’ organizations, he said.
There are about 16,000 societies and 15 milk unions in the state. In some places, two or three districts have joined together to form a union. There are 15 mother dairies. As one crore litre of milk is being produced, 50 ml of milk has been added to the half-litre milk packet.
“The produced milk has to be sold. We cannot say no to milk from farmers and societies. The quantity of Nandini milk has been increased to help the farmers,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the opposition party is spreading false information, saying that the Government has increased the price of milk without understanding this.
“We have to assume that they don’t care about the farmers. If the production of milk increases, there will be more income. The Government provides Rs. 5 crores as subsidy if the milk production increases by 1 crore litres,” Siddaramaiah said.
He said that farmers are being supported by providing subsidies of Rs 150 crores per month and Rs 1800 crores per year. “I am the one who increased the subsidy from Rs 2 to Rs 5,” he said.
Reiterating that the price of milk has not been increased, the CM said that even if the price of milk increases, it will be burdensome for the buyers.
“Farmers will not be burdened, but it will actually help them,” he said adding that, “Even though the quantity has been increased and the price fixed accordingly, the price of milk in Karnataka is low compared to neighbouring states.”
He said that only Karnataka is providing milk at a lower price to consumers compared to all other states. (ANI)
