Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/article3392261.ece
Cows and buffaloes bred here will be sold to poor women at subsidised rates, says Somashekara Reddy
Big plans:Karnataka Milk Federation Chairman G. Somashekara Reddy
inaugurating a new milk packaging unit in Bidar on Sunday.— Photo:
Gopichand T.
The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) will start a cattle
bank in Surpur in Yadgir district to breed high-quality cows and
buffaloes and give them to poor women, KMF Chairman Gali Somashekara
Reddy has said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the upgraded Bidar dairy and packaging unit here on Sunday.
Best breeds
We
would get the best breeds from around the world and rear them at the
bank. The cattle would then be sold at subsidised prices to poor women.
This would not only give them a source of livelihood, but also increase
milk production potential, he said.
“If a milch
animal costs between Rs. 30,000 and 40,000 in the market, we would sell
it for Rs. 10,000 to Rs 15,000,” he said. The KMF would tie up with
banks and cooperative institutions to help women get easy loans to buy
cattle, he said. The Bidar District Central Cooperative Bank, he said,
had decided to give set aside Rs. 15 crore for this programme.
The
work on building a cattle breeding and maintenance farm on 120 acres
along the Krishna in Surpur was in progress and would be completed in
two or three months, Mr. Reddy said.
“We plan to invite Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda to inaugurate the centre,” he added.
With 48 lakh litres being produced every day, Karnataka is the second-largest producer of milk in India.
“The
State is now aiming at being the leader in milk production. We have
plans to take milk production to 70 lakh litres a day in the next five
to six years. We are taking several steps towards this, including
providing a cash incentive of Rs. 3 a litre of buffalo milk, in addition
to the Rs. 2 cash incentive given by the State government to farmers on
every litre of milk sold to the KMF,” he said.
Cooperatives
The
federation would provide a grant of Rs. 2 lakh to construct buildings
for milk producers' cooperative societies, he said. “Our dream is to
have milk societies in every village.” The KMF would consider the demand
for job security to the staff of societies.
The
Bidar-Gulbarga milk union should focus on procuring more milk from
farmers. “The union collects only around 50,000 litres a day, but we
need to work towards a target of 3 lakh litres a day. If the procurement
reaches 1-1.5 lakh litres, then we will set up an ice-cream unit in
these regions,” he said. The KMF would set up a water plant to provide
water to the Bidar dairy.
‘No irregularities'
He
denied allegations made by the former KMF chairman H.D Revanna that
there were large-scale irregularities in the federation. Without naming
Mr. Revanna, Mr. Reddy said he was making such allegations because he
was “jealous”. “He has asked for a CBI inquiry. I am ready for any
inquiry,” he said. “If I am found to have cheated farmers or misused
funds, I will resign,” he added.
He urged Animal
Husbandry Minister Revu Naik Belamagi to transfer community grazing
lands in villages to the KMF so that it could cultivate fodder crops and
distribute green grass and fodder among cattle rearers.
‘KMF will tie up with banks, cooperative institutions to help women get loans'
‘Work on cattle breeding and maintenance farm in Surpur will be completed within three months'
