DMU stops making milk products, citing short supply

Dharwad: The Dharwad Milk Union (DMU), a unit of KMF, has stopped making milk products, even as the debate on KMF’s ‘merger’ with Amul is taking a new turn every day. As the supply of milk has come down drastically, DMU is supplying only milk, buttermilk and curd to its customers. It has stopped the production of double-toned milk, homogenised pure cow milk, butter, milk powder, pedha, khova, lassi, paneer, cheese, and ghee sold under the Nandini brand name, since a month back. Now, only Shubham pasteurised milk, pasteurised toned milk, buttermilk, and curd are available in authorised Nandini outlets. Customers of Nandini ghee and other products are returning empty-handed, which is a common scene at the milk parlours. Earlier, DMU had the jurisdiction of Haveri, Gadag, Uttar Kannada, and Dharwad districts, but Haveri was separated after a separate milk processing and packaging unit was set up at Jangamkoppa village in Haveri. Milk which was coming to DMU from Haveri is being processed at Jangamanakoppa now. Therefore, DMU is facing a scarcity of one lakh litres of milk daily. Outbreak of lumpy-skin disease among cows is another reason for the dip in milk supply. More than 2,000 cows have died in these three districts. Besides, decrease in milk production during summer is a common phenomenon every year. All these factors have made DMU to stop production of milk products. DMU director Suresh Banavi said 2.25 lakh litres of milk was collected daily in April last year. Of this, 1.1 lakh litres were sold and 17,000 litres were used for making curd. The remaining milk was used for other products. But this year, only 1.1 lakh litres of milk is being collected daily. “We are purchasing 50,000 litres of milk from Haveri and Mandya. Of that, 1.2 lakh litres of milk is sold, and 24,000 litres is used for producing curd. There is more demand for milk this year,” he said.