Kohalpur takes initiatives to establish milk powder plant

By Our Correspondent

Nepalgunj, Sept. 8: Kohalpur Municipality of Banke has taken initiative to establish a milk powder plant in Kohalpur.

A team led by Mayor of Kohalpur Municipality Purna Prasad Acharya met with the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Federal government Ramnath Adhikari and other high government officials and submitted the demand letter to establish the powder plant.

Mayor Acharya said that they have met with Minister Adhikari along with Rajendra Prasad Yadav, executive chairman of the National Dairy Development Board, and submitted a demand letter to establish a powder milk factory.

According to him, around 8,000 litres of milk is collected daily from October to March and more than that amount in other months at the milk collection centre of Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) located in Kohalpur Municipality-9 and milk distribution centres. 

As the farmers are not able to sell milk regularly due to ‘milk holiday’, they have demanded to establish the powder milk factory.

Mayor Acharya said that the Minister of Agriculture Adhikari informed them that a budget of Rs. 5 million has been allocated for the powder milk factory through the ministerial decision on September 3, this year.

He said that there was a possibility that the construction work of the plant would go ahead within six months at the land of DDC located at Pipari in Kohalpur-9.

He said that the plant is likely to be built at a cost of Rs. 500 million.

According to Mayor Acharya, this project will help the dairy farmers of Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces of western Nepal to be self-sufficient and help to set a strong base for the rural economy.

The milk distribution project in Kohalpur has been collecting milk from Shantinagar Milk Chilling Centre in Dang, Lamahi Milk Chilling Centre, Sano Shree in Bardiya and Bhurigaon Milk Chilling Centre.  Similarly, milk has been collected from Chhinchhu Milk Chilling Centre in Surkhet of Karnali Province and Kohalpur Project Office in Banke.