YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's sop to dairy farms to hit Heritage

Tirupati: YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s announcement in Eluru, West Godavari district, on Sunday to give Rs 4 in addition to the price of every litre of milk, if it was sold to the cooperative dairy, is likely to trigger shock waves among cooperative dairies owned and operated by relatives of some Telugu Desam leaders.

Political analysts say that the intention was to hit Heritage Foods, owned and operated by TD chief and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s family, and Sangam Dairy, of which TD legislator Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar is the chairman.  

Mr Jagan Mohan had earlier promised dairy farmers in Chittoor that Vijaya Dairy, a cooperative firm that was shut down in the district in the past, will be reopened if he assumes power. He even alleged that Mr Naidu had shut down Vijaya Dairy to favour his Heritage Foods.

In the past, farmers and employees had staged a series of protests in front of Chittoor Co-operative Milk Dairy to push the government for its revival.

At that time, District Dairy Farmers’ Union chief Venkatachalam Naidu, too, had alleged that the CM and district TD leaders closed Chittoor Dairy to benefit Heritage Foods. It was also asked why Chittoor Dairy became defunct when it was procuring 3 lakh litres of milk per day. Nearly 1,200 employees are believed to have lost their livelihood with the cooperative dairy’s closure.

Analysts feel that if the cooperative dairy is reopened and Mr Jagan’s promise of paying Rs 4 more for a litre of milk comes into force, it could have an adverse impact on cooperative dairies belonging to both TD leaders and some other private dairy farms, as they get more milk from Chittoor district and other parts of the state. Chances are, farmers will incline towards the cooperative dairy farm units and sells milk to them, indirectly affecting milk procurement by the private dairies.