Milk trade a lucrative business in Mandi

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 11

Having limited sources of livelihood, village women are seeing milk trade as a profitable business.

Residents of Gohar in Mandi, Susheela, Meena and Kalpna said by selling cow milk, they were able to help their spouses run the house. The women said as inclement weather often damaged annual crops, they had no option but to look for an alternative.

“The Milk Plant Authority at Chakar in Mandi is providing transportation services for the collection of milk on a daily basis. This way, we do not have to go to markets,” they added.

“We get Rs 20 per litre. Our time is saved as we don’t have to step out of our houses and at the same time, we are able to help our spouses,” the women said.

More and more women are now keeping hybrid cows to increase the milk production.

At present, there are 378 milk cooperative societies. As per data, against 20,000 litre milk capacity, the dairy milk plant at Chakar is receiving 38,000 litre milk per day.

The plant has proved a boon for the village people.

The residents appreciated the Milk Federation for providing transportation services in the district. Manager of Milkfed, Mandi, Rakesh Pathak said the authority was making efforts to provide better marketing facilities to villagers at their doorstep. The price ranges between Rs 15 and Rs 30 per litre.“Apart from Mandi, we are providing services to Kullu district. There are 10 milk chilling centres in various parts of Mandi and Kullu,” he added.