Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said that due to strenuous efforts of the state government, Milkfed- the leading Cooperative of the state will spread its milk by augmenting the milk supply to Delhi from currently 30,000 litres to 2 lakh litres thereby immensely benefitting the farmers/ milk producers of the state.
“This is a revolutionary step aimed at supplementing the income of the farmers to bail them out from the agrarian crisis”, said the Chief Minister after inaugurating the newly built Milk Processing and Butter Plant Verka here today.
The Chief Minister unequivocally said that the state government has inked an agreement with the Delhi government in this regard. He said that as per this agreement Verka will open new outlets at every nook and corner of Delhi to supply milk and milk products in the capital.
The Chief Minister also asserted that farmer friendly schemes should be implemented so as to boost the dairying business amongst the youth so as to make them financially independent and self-reliant. Bhagwant Mann also said that he has asked Milkfed to further launch an aggressive marketing campaign to capture a sizable chunk of consumer market not only in the state but across the country and even abroad. He said that this leading state cooperative has a perceptible presence in the domestic market as Verka is a household name in the region.
The Chief Minister said that VERKA products like Ghee, Milk, Butter, Lassi, Kheer, Curd, Ice-Cream, Sweets and others have already created a niche for themselves in the nationwide market which could further be widened with concerted efforts. Striking an emotional chord with city of Ludhiana, the Chief Minister described it as his Karam bhoomi whereas Satauj village was his janambhoomi adding that the state of the art project is Diwali bonanza for the farmers as it has been constructed at a cost of Rs 105 crore. Bhagwant Mann said that its milk processing capacity is 9 lakh litres daily and 10 Metric Tonne Butter handling capacity.
The Chief Minister exhorted the farmers to refrain from burning paddy straw as it poses a serious threat to human life by environmental pollution. He said that in a step aimed at wiping out the menace of paddy straw burning from the state, India’s largest Bio Energy plant has been constructed in Sangrur at a cost of Rs 230 crore over 20 acres of land. Bhagwant Mann said this is largest biofuel (Biomethane/ Bio-CNG) production units in India with 33 TPD (tons per day) adding that the annual straw consumption in this unit will be1.30 lakh ton adding that it will help in solving the vex problem of paddy straw burning.