New Delhi, July 06, 2023: Amul’s expansion plans in the south have run into trouble a third time, with a proposed Amul unit coming up in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor receiving flak from the state’s main opposition party.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Amul facility on Tuesday, saying it was aimed at reviving the defunct Vijaya Dairy located at the site, which ceased operations in 2002, the Indian Express reported.
While the TDP levelled allegations against Reddy saying that the project was a ‘sellout’ to Gujarat and a blow to Telugu pride, the chief minister accused TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu of causing the fall of Vijaya Dairy to promote his family-owned Heritage Dairy, the report said.
The YSRCP government has leased out the Chittoor land to Amul for 99 years, as part of a MoU. The Amul unit will churn out a range of dairy products, including ice cream, milk powder, paneer, yoghurt, butter and process about 1 lakh litres of milk daily, the report said.
Reddy said that Amul is investing Rs 385 crore to set up the facility which would create as many as 5,000 direct jobs and employ about 2 lakh indirectly through their outlets and distribution channels.
He also hit out at Naidu and said that the erstwhile Vijay Dairy processed as much as 3 lakh litres of milk a day in 1993 when Naidu established his own dairy enterprise and by 2002 Vijaya Dairy was abruptly brought to the point of shutdown.
“Chandrababu exerted pressure on local dairy farmers to benefit his business,” he said, adding that at one time, Vijaya Dairy functioned on the same footing as Amul.
“We have brought in Amul to help the cooperative sector get back on track… The increase in price of milk will benefit thousands of farmers not only in the Chittoor area but also neighbouring Rayalaseema and Nellore districts,” the Indian Express quoted the chief minister as saying.
On the other hand, the TDP has alleged that Jagan succumbed to “pressure” and cleared the Amul facility due to the number of court cases he is facing from Central agencies, the Indian Express report said.
According to the reports published in thewire.in TDP state unit president Kinjerapu Atchen Naidu, in a letter to Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy, asked “What is the secret behind inviting the Gujarat-based dairy without considering local units in the state?”
“Thousands of crores worth of public property and cooperative dairies were being surrendered to Amul,” he wrote, calling the move “barbaric”. He also cited examples of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu’s recent opposition to Amul’s entry in their state fearing it would harm their local dairy cooperatives.
