PUDUKKOTTAI: As of Tuesday, it is all work and no tea at Keeramangalam in Pudukkottai. The recent directive by the district dairy development department to put a cap of 10% on local sale of dairy products produced by Aavin-associated milk societies have put the teashop owners in a fix.
As a result, over 40 teashops in Keeramangalam town panchayat, Pudukkottai, have discontinued from brewing tea as of Tuesday. On 9 December, the dairy development department of Pudukkottai directed the Aavin-associated milk societies in selected areas of Pudukkottai not to sell dairy products beyond a 10% limit within the area of production.
Earlier, 70% of dairy products manufactured in Keeramangalam could be sold locally. M S Selvaraj, a teashop owner from Keeramangalam, said, "I have been running a teashop here for 53 years; we have never used packet milks, relying solely on fresh milk supplied by the societies. Hence, we have no plans to adopt packet milk over what is supplied through societies."
A district-level official of the dairy development department said, "Standardisation of milk accords with food safety regulations. We limited local supply of unprocessed milk from societies to 10% to avert possible lamentable situations where people fall sick after consuming loose milk."
The official said the regulation has been put in place now as the current state government is persistent on supplying quality dairy products. Sources from the district food safety department cited instances of people falling sick over consumption of unprocessed milk. "We aim to create awareness among the residents of Keeramangalam of the importance of standardisation," an official said.