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Milma to open dairy at Kattappana

Special Correspondent

Food Minister C. Divakaran to inaugurate dairy tomorrow

Kochi: Milma will open a dairy at Kattappana for processing the milk being collected from milk farmers in Idukki district.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, T.P. Markose and Jose Abraham, Chairman and Managing Director respectively of the Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd (Milma), which looked after the Idukki district, also said that the plant would be inaugurated on May 11.

They said that there were only three milk chilling units in Idukki district after the milk development project was implemented in 1965. The milk being procured from the district was being transported to Ernakulam dairy and got processed there.

The consumption of milk and milk products had gone up in Kattappana, Munnar, Adimali, Kumali, and Thodupuzha on account of rapid urbanisation of the district. In view of the increasing demand, Milma had started distributing its milk in the district after transporting the processed milk from the Ernakulam dairy to the chilling plant at Kattappana. The dairy at Kattappana had been set up near this chilling plant under the Rs.2.88-crore Intensive Dairy Development and Rs.2.40-crore Quality and Clean Milk Product Schemes. The Union Government had granted 75 per cent of amount of the schemes while Milma raised the rest of the amount. Besides, Milma was able to constitute 50 milk producers' cooperative societies and give them cans, registers and milk testing equipment, etc., under these schemes. With the establishing of the dairy, the milk collected from the dairy could now be processed at the Kattappana and Milma could make other milk products such as curd and ghee at the dairy.

They said that efforts were on to provide bulk milk coolers to as many as 27 primary cooperative societies under the Quality and Clean Milk Production Scheme. In fact 18 primary cooperative societies were able to install the milk coolers and chill 35, 000 litres of milk. Training was also imparted to milk farmers for collecting milk in a clean and hygienic way. The dairy at Kattappana would be inaugurated by Minister for Food C. Divakaran. Idukki MLA Roshi Augustin would preside.

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