Warangal Rural: State government, which is striving for economic empowerment of Dalits in the State with several programmes, has now embarked on another mission to improve their financial status – a dairy scheme that provides each Dalit family with four buffaloes at a cost of Rs four lakh.

The dairy scheme will be implemented in Mulugu, Jangaon and Warangal Rural in combined Warangal district as a pilot project before it is extended to other districts in the State. The government has sanctioned a total of 658 units costing Rs 26.32 crore for Dalit families in Narsampet constituency following the efforts of TRS MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Sudarshan Reddy said four buffaloes at a cost of Rs four lakhs (one unit) would be given to each family. “While 60 per cent of the unit cost will be subsidy borne by the government, Vijaya Dairy will extend the remaining 40 per cent as loan to the beneficiaries,” Reddy said, adding that as many as 100 beneficiaries from Chennaraopet mandal in the constituency would be handed over the buffaloes in the first phase.

Stating that the beneficiaries were taken to Nagpur in Maharashtra to purchase the buffaloes of their choice on Tuesday, he said they returned to Narsampet on Saturday with the buffaloes.

“All of them have already undergone training provided by the government free of cost on buffalo care, milk production and sale of milk,” SC Corporation Executive Director Suresh said, adding that Vijaya Diary had already said that it would enter into an agreement with the beneficiaries to purchase the milk.

Kandikatla Hussian, a beneficiary from Yellayagudem village of Chennaraopet mandal, said: “We are happy to get the buffaloes. We will remain indebted to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for implementing the dairy scheme for Dalits.”

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