MANGALORE: The Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd. (DKMUL) will commission six more bulk milk coolers in Dakshina Kannada by next month, Managing Director M.N. Venkatramu has said.

These coolers will be set up at Nada, Madanthyar, Ujiire, Gerukatte, Barangaya and Aladangadi in Belthangadi taluk. The Union Government has provided a grant of Rs. 46 lakhs to set up the coolers and DKMUL will contribute Rs. 20 lakhs toward this. The coolers will be inaugurated sometime at the end of February. Once commissioned, the total number of bulk milk coolers under DKMUL limits will reach 16. The Union Government under the Venture Capital Fund has permitted the setting up 55 extra bulk milk coolers. Funds for this will be obtained through the District Central Cooperative Bank and the union will be able to collect 1.50 lakh litres of milk through the bulk milk coolers in a day, Mr. Venkatramu said.

A Rs. 50-lakh milk plant to manufacture flavoured milk for coastal districts will be established here by March 2006. Tender for the plant has been floated and once completed the plant can produce 5,000 bottles of flavoured milk an hour.

Upgradation

With assistance from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the existing milk processing plant in Mangalore is being upgraded at an estimated cost of Rs. 4.65 crores.

The upgradation should be completed in a year and the plant will be able to process two lakh litres of milk a day against the existing one lakh litres.

The capacity of the milk processing unit at Manipal will be increased from 60,000 litres a day to one lakh litres a day.

Mr. Venkatramu said that the union had distributed high yielding fodder sticks to 10,000 farmers through a joint venture with the Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project last year.

At present, the DKMUL collects 1.78 lakh litres of milk from 36,000 farmers in 496 milk cooperative societies a day.

It sells 1.89 lakh litres a day and the shortage is met by procuring milk from neighbouring districts. It procures 12,000 litres a day from districts such as Hassan. Of 1.89 lakh litres sold each day, 16,000 litres are sold in the form of byproducts.

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