Renovated Kottayam Milma Dairy dedicated to the nation
Will not wait for central help for Wayanad rehabilitation endlessly: Minister Chinchurani
Kottayam / October 22, 2024
Kottayam, Oct. 22: Dairy Development and Animal Husbandry Minister Smt J Chinchurani today inaugurated the upgraded Milma Kottayam Dairy, raising the daily production capacity to 1,00,000 litres from 75,000 litres.
The dairy has installed a new pasteuriser (10 kilolitres), homogeniser (10 kilolitres), milk separator (10 kilolitres) and curd pasteuriser (five kilolitres) as part of the renovation.
The capacity of the refrigeration plant has been increased to 150 tonnes. The capacity of the curd store has also been increased.
The renovation was undertaken using Rs 65 lakh from the Rs 3.2 crore allocated by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which selected Milma’s Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (ERCMPU) as the Promising Milk Union of South India for its outstanding performance.
It also received Rs 2.6 crore as an interest-free loan and Rs 47 lakh from the Kerala government's Annual Plan and utilised Rs 52 lakh from the Regional Union's own funds for the capacity expansion.
The minister said the loss of the dairy sector in the Wayanad landslides was huge, in addition to the loss of life and properties. She demanded that the Union Government declare it a national disaster and provide financial assistance accordingly.
The Minister, however, assured that the delay in the central aid would not affect the rehabilitation of the affected people and their livelihood.
She said 560 cows perished in the state from extreme heat due to climate change, and Rs 37,500 were given to 80 people from the Disaster Relief Fund of the Dairy Development Department. Milma will provide subsidised silage feed for cows.
The minister also announced that all the cows in the state will be insured. She appreciated the cooperation of Shri Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA in the department’s activities.
Shri Radhakrishnan said the expansion potential of public sector institutions should be fully utilised and that the department's work testifies to the minister's knowledge in dairy development.
He also inaugurated the bonus distribution of the Ernakulam Regional Union, which disbursed Rs 3,28,61,300 to members of its affiliated cooperatives as per profit sharing for 2023-2024. The bonus was 31 paise per litre in proportion to the milk supplied.
Milma Ernakulam Regional Union Chairman Shri MT Jayan said all available assistance schemes will be used to benefit the dairy development sector.
He said Ernakulam Regional Union is a role model for others in obtaining and effectively utilising the financial assistance of the Central and State Governments. The support provided by the NDDB in upgrading Milma was invaluable.
Milma Federation (KCMMF) MD and Director of the Dairy Development Department, Shri Asif K Yusuf, explained the expansion project and stressed the possibility of improving quality and increasing production. He also said such reforms will be implemented in the federation’s various other units.
ERCMPU MD Shri Wilson J. Puravakkat, former chairman Shri John Theruvathu, Director Board members Shri Johny Joseph, Shri Soni Eatackan, Shri Jomon Joseph, Smt Laisamma George, Vijayapuram Panchayat President Shri V Soman Kutty, representatives of local self-government bodies, Dairy Development Department officials, and cooperative society presidents participated in the program.
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