8 years gone, milk chilling plant yet to kick off
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Sodhra-Sunderbani (Rajouri), July 31
Eight long years have gone but the state government has failed to operationalise a milk chilling plant despite having the infrastructure and required machinery. The much-hyped plant was to start operation in 2000.

The project, conceived in the 90s, was a joint venture between the state Animal Husbandry and the Jammu and Kashmir Milk Producers Limited. The former was to install the machinery and latter was to carry out the operations, including procuring milk from the farmers.

It was thought, the milk chilling plant, having a capacity of 10,000 litres, would change the destinies of the milk-producing farmers of Sunderbani and Nowshera.

They were supposed to get good price for their produce from the local cooperative society, which had collaborated with the JKMPCL, which was to store milk in the plant and transfer it to Jammu for selling purpose.

“We produce a huge quantity of milk but the irony is that we don't get market for our produce. Since milk is perishable commodity, we cannot store it for long,” said Jograj Sharma, a local farmer.

“After the milk chilling plant was ready for operation in 2000, we expected that the agency concerned would procure our milk at a good price but nothing of that sort happened,” he said.

Congress spokesperson and a local resident, Ravinder Sharma, who took up the matter with the state government couple number of times, said they were ready to extend any sought of cooperation to the agencies concerned for making the project operational. “I took up the matter with former animal husbandry minister several times but there was no result. I again appealed to the state government to get this project (which would benefit local milk producing farmers) operational,” Sharma said.

Talking over the phone from Jammu, Dr S.P. Sharma, director, Animal Husbandry, told The Tribune, “We have installed the machinery under the Integrated Dairy Development project. It is the Jammu and Kashmir Milk Producers Limited, which has to start the operation.”

A senior officer of the JKMPCL asking not to be named said they were facing problems in making the project operational.

“Firstly we require around 10,000 litres of water for running the project and there is water shortage in the area.

Secondly the local cooperative society, which has to procure milk from the farmers too is defunct,” he said. “Besides, there are other problems, which need to be tackled to make the project operational,” he said.