Shakti Singh, Ranchi. Medha Dairy, operated under Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited, is going to make major expansion in the field of milk production and processing in the state. Medha Dairy is planning to double its current production capacity to about five lakh liters per day in the next three years. For this, new plants, milk powder units and product manufacturing units are being established.
At present Medha Dairy is producing about 2.5 lakh liters of milk through plants established in various districts of Jharkhand. The production capacity of the plant located at Hotwar, Ranchi is one lakh liters per day. At the same time, 50 thousand liters of milk is being produced daily in Sahibganj, 50 thousand liters in Sarath of Deoghar and 50 thousand liters of milk is being produced in Palamu. The total production capacity of all these centers together is approximately 2.5 lakh liters per day.
Milk powder plant will open in Hotwar, capacity will be 20 tons per day.
Presently milk powder is imported from outside in the state. To eliminate this dependency, a milk powder plant is being established in the Hotwar plant complex of Ranchi. The construction work of this plant with a capacity of 20 tonnes per day is expected to be completed in about 18 months. After this, there will be no shortage of milk during festivals and times of high demand and the extra milk powder can be prepared locally. Earlier, due to non-production of powder in the state, extra milk had to be sent to other states.
Modern product plant being built for 34 products
A large and modern product plant is also under construction at Hotwar. About 34 types of milk related products will be manufactured in this plant. These include Chamcham, Ras Malai, packed milk, Lassi and many other products. This plant, equipped with fully mechanized machines, will also be ready in about 18 months, which will increase both production capacity and quality.
1.4 lakh liters of milk is being collected from farmers every day
Medha Dairy also focuses on strengthening local milk producing farmers. At present about 1.3 to 1.4 lakh liters of milk is being collected daily by the dairy directly from local farmers. This is strengthening the rural economy and providing assured market to the farmers for their milk.
There will be expansion in new districts also
Medha Dairy's expansion is not limited to just the existing plants. The process of getting land in Seraikela-Kharsawan is in the final stage. As soon as the land is obtained, a new milk plant of 50 thousand liter capacity will be opened there. Dairy officials have also inspected the land in Chatra district. Once land is available, a plant with a capacity of 50 thousand liters will be set up there also.
Milk sector will get new momentum in Jharkhand
After completion of all these schemes, Medha Dairy will create a strong base in the field of milk production, processing and value addition in Jharkhand. While this will increase the income of farmers, quality and diverse milk products will also be available to consumers. Apart from this, there is a plan to open a cattle feed plant in Godda district, for which the district administration has identified the land.