Chittoor cooperative will now be Amul Dairy; YS Jagan lays foundation stone

CHITTOOR: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Amul Dairy unit in the Chittoor district on Tuesday, reviving the Chittoor Cooperative Dairy that ceased to operate two decades ago.

Amul will be investing Rs 385 crore to set up the largest ice-cream manufacturing facility plant and produce various dairy products in a phased manner.

“In the first phase, Rs 150 crore will be invested and in the next 10 months, the unit will process 1 lakh litres of milk. A butter manufacturing unit, milk powder manufacturing unit along with paneer, yogurt and sweets manufacturing units will be set up in the next five years,” Chief Minister said addressing a public meeting.

As many as 5,000 direct jobs would be created and about two lakh people would work indirectly through their outlets and distribution channels, he added.

Lashing out at former Chief Minister and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, YS Jagan recalled that the TDP government either closed or sold 54 entities, many of which were government establishments and corporations that suffered adverse treatment from his government.

“Even APSRTC, government hospitals and government-run schools would have vanished if Chandrababu Naidu had not lost the elections in 2004. These establishments would have been sold to TDP MP Kasineni Nani, Narayana, Chaitanya and other hospital conglomerates,” he pointed out.

The TDP chief portrayed this as his great accomplishment despite the steps taken by his government that resulted in large-scale unemployment and the destruction of government sector institutions for his personal self-interest, YS Jagan said.

“Naidu glorifies the deeds he has done and released a book titled ‘Privatisation, a Success Story in Andhra Pradesh’. On the contrary, he dares to sit for a dharna to save the Visakhapatnam steel plant from privatisation. I request the citizens of this state to critically assess this man's mindset,” YS Jagan said. He criticised that the TDP chief developed the party manifesto with the intention to mislead the gullible people of the state.

Narrating the events that led to the destruction of the Chittoor Dairy which was established in 1988, Chief Minister said that the unit processed 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh litres per day between 1989 and 1993. In 1993, Chandrababu Naidu established his own dairy enterprise - Heritage Dairy in 1992, which caused Chittoor Dairy to run into losses. On August 31, 2002, Chittoor Dairy was abruptly shut down. Farmers and workers were burdened with hundreds of crores in arrears, he explained.

YS Jagan said that the doors to the Chittoor dairy, which had been closed for two decades have been opened following the release of dues worth Rs 185 crore. “We have brought Amul, the biggest dairy cooperative in the nation, to help the cooperative sector get back on track,” Chief Minister said.

The Andhra Pradesh government through its revolutionary initiative 'Jagananna Paala Velluva’ aimed at sharing the profits with the women dairy farmers. “Any increase in prices for milk will benefit thousands of farmers not only in the Chittoor area but also in the neighbouring Rayalaseema and Nellore districts,” he said. Due to the measures taken by the government and Amul, women dairy farmers had received an additional benefit of Rs 4,243 crores during last two years, CM said.

Chief Minister also laid foundation stone for a 300 -bed hospital in the CMC Medical College premises at Chilapalli in Gudipala mandal.