Dairy farmers fed up with ties to Guj, want a milk policy in Rajasthan
Dairy farmers in the Jalore and Sirohi districts of Rajasthan are unhappy with the BJP and Congress parties due to the lack of support for their industry. These farmers sell their cow milk to Banas Dairy in Gujarat and are demanding a similar setup within Rajasthan to get better prices. Currently, around 2 lakh litres of milk are collected daily by Banas Dairy from these districts. Dairy farmers are looking for candidates who promise a concrete policy for their industry in the upcoming elections.
Issues centred around cows have for long been crucial for political parties during elections, but dairy farmers in the assembly constituencies of Jalore and Sirohi districts are happy neither with BJP nor with Congress. The dairy farmers here sell cow milk to Banas Dairy of Gujarat, which has set up collection centres in every village in these two border districts.
Locals have been demanding a similar dairy set-up within Rajasthan so that they get a better price for their milk.TOI met dairy farmers in Pindwara, Raniwara, Pathmera, Sanchore and other areas in the two districts, who expressed resentment over the current situation and said this time around they would vote for candidates who promise a concrete policy for dairy farmers in the region.
According to an estimate, nearly 2 lakh litres of milk is collected per day by Banas Dairy of Gujarat from villages in Jalore, Sanchore,, Rainwara, Pathmera, Ahor and other areas in the two districts.“Since Banas dairy is big and the only player here, it does whatever it wants. We are compelled to mould ourselves as per its policies.
Sometimes when the quantity of a cow’s milk is less, it does not buy it. Both Jalore and Sirohi districts have thousands of dairy farmers, but neither BJP nor Congress has made a policy to ensure the milk that goes to Gujarat is utilised within Rajasthan,” said Rati Ram Garasia, a resident of Pathmeda near Sanchore. He has ten milch cows.
Otaram Dewasi, the BJP candidate from Sirohi constituency who was earlier minister of the cow department, admitted that a proper policy for cows is needed. “We should have some setup so that our dairy farmers get a fair price for milk within Rajasthan. If BJP comes to power, we will have insurance for cows so that farmers keep them even if they do not yield milk,” said Dewasi.
He said farmers in Jalore, Sirohi, Dungarpur and Banswara districts currently have no option but to sell their milk to Gujarat.
Source : Times of India Oct 30 2023