Rayagada: With state-owned Omfed milk missing from shelves, milk packets from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh have flooded Rayagada market owing to closure of the Omfed plant for the last 18 years, a report said Saturday.
Omfed milk is seldom found in the market here and the only milk available in the market is manufactured in Andhra Pradesh making up a staggering 90 per cent of the total sale in this market.
Moreover, the price of Andhra milk is also high in comparison. As a result, people in Rayagada town and adjoining areas are forced to buy Andhra milk as no other option is available in the market.
The state government has launched various schemes to promote livestock and cattle farming including subsidies to promote the schemes.
The district has 11 blocks but cattle farming is not done in every block. Moreover, those involved in cattle rearing also do not sell their milk daily to Omfed. Around, 4,300 litre milk from Gunupur, Ramnaguda, Padmapur, Kolnara, Kashipur and Rayagada is supplied daily to the Omfed plant.
Milk supplied by the farmers is first examined with lactometer before the latter is paid. The plant at Rayagada was shut after it incurred continuous losses and converted to a chilling booth to preserve milk collected from various rural pockets in the district. Later, the chilled milk is sent to Jeypore for processing and pasteurisation. Consumers have alleged that Rayagada has all the potential to become a milk production hub. However, milk farmers are not sensitised enough in this regard. Milk from Andhra Pradesh reaches Rayagada faster but the Omfed milk produced in Jeypore fails to reach Rayagada in time.
A resident Santosh Das of New Colony in Rayagada town said the vendors are giving only Andhra Pradesh milk when asked for a packet of milk. They want to buy homegrown Omfed milk but are unable to do so. The Omfed plant at Rayagada has been closed down from 2005 and shifted to Jeypore.
The milk collected from cattle farmers in Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur districts are sent to the Jeypore Omfed plant. Raw milk is processed at the plant and is dispatched to Rayagada for sale by sealing it in packets. However, vehicle owners have stopped ferrying it to Rayagada citing loss during transportation.
Omfed unit in-charge Pabitra Mohan Das said a fresh tender has been invited and the problem will be resolved soon. He said they will ensure that Omfed milk is sold in more quantity in the market.
Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) Hadibandhu Bhoi said that he cannot comment on the issue as Omfed is managed by the milk producers’ federation and is not under their jurisdiction.
PNN