THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amidst the ongoing milk war between Kerala’s Milma and Karnataka milk federation’s Nandini, the state government has approached the National Dairy Development Board seeking its intervention.
The state has asked the national body to take the initiative to hold talks with the affected party and Nandini to resolve the issue. In its letter, the dairy development department explained that Nandini’s entrance into the state market would badly affect lakhs of dairy farmers.
“We had sought the intervention of the National Dairy Development Board. The government is waiting for a reply. The next stand will be taken based on it,” said Chinchu Rani, the minister for animal husbandry & dairy development.
After the initial provocative statement against the Nandini milk by questioning its quality, the minister and the government are treading on a path of dialogue with the new Karnataka government led by the Congress. The government has taken a stand to wait for the national dairy board’s decision. If the board’s position is against the state’s interest, it will seek a dialogue with Karnataka at the government level.
“We are ready for talks with the Karnataka state if the situation is ready,” the minister said. However, she alleged that the Karnataka government had not sought permission to sell Nandini milk in the state’s market. We are opposing that position, she added.
Sour corner
However, the government is feeling the heat from an unexpected corner. The former minister for dairy development in the LDF government in 2006-’11 and a CPI veteran leader C Divakaran dismissed Chinju Rani’s allegation against Nandini. “Nandini milk is good in quality, and it is preserved well,” he told TNIE.
“Even when I was the minister, the milk from Tamilnadu was bought here. You cannot take a stand that TN milk is good, but Karnataka milk is bad. In Kerala, everything is in a depleted state. We have five or six coconuts and one or two fish to eat. When we are buying everything from other states, how could we take a stand against a certain brand of milk?” he asked.