Eight years after demand was made, C’magaluru to get a dedicated milk producers’ union

Chikkamagaluru: More than eight years after the demand for a dedicated milk union at the district level was arrived at the conclusion of a meeting held at the taluk panchayat office, Chikkamagluru is all set to get an independent milk producers’ union. Interestingly, the meeting held on June 30, 2011 was chaired by minister CT Ravi, who was an MLA then.
Meanwhile, the state government has approved the bifurcation of the Hassan District Milk Producers’ Union, hitherto the body responsible for managing supply and distribution of milk from dairy farmers in Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Hassan districts. While the government’s decision has been greeted with delight by the dairy farmers in Chikkamagluru, there are murmurs that the move is aimed at reducing the influence of former public works minister and senior JD(S) leader HD Revanna within the Karnataka Milk Factory (KMF), a body which he has thrice served as the chairman of.
Revanna, however, continues to remain the chairman of the Hassan District milk producers’ Union.
Chikkamagaluru city MLA and tourism minister CT Ravi confirmed that the state government had approved a longstanding demand among the dairy farmers of the district. “Chamarajanagar was carved out as a district relatively recently, and yet, it has a milk producers’ union of its own. But Chikkamagaluru has been a district since the creation of Karnataka, and yet it has been deprived of a dedicated body for its dairy farmers, “said Ravi, brushing aside allegations of the decision being prompted by political calculations.
However, the minister was quick to add that Chikkamagaluru’s dairy farmers had been treated unfairly, who were meted out step-motherly treatment by the management of the Hassan District Milk Producers’ Union. “The management was only keen on utilising the district’s marketing potential, but no efforts were made to boost milk production,” he added.
However, sources in the union said that the bifurcation would not have a telling impact on its fortunes since Chikkamagaluru accounted for only 10% of the milk collected cumulatively in the three districts. “On average, the union collects 10 lakh litres of milk per day, of which only one lakh litres are from Chikkamagaluru. So, bifurcation of the union, and CHikkamagaluru getting a dedicated body for itself will not affect us,” said sources in the Hassan District Milk producers’ Union.
Chikkamagaluru spokesperson for the JD(S) HS Raghu Hongere, however, opined that the decision would hurt dairy farmers of the district the most. “Where will they sell the milk now? How will the government pay salaries to the employees of the union in Chikkamagaluru? The JD(S) leadership is least concerned about the division, but we are worried about the uncertain fate of the dairy farmers,” Hongere said.