Support the dairy farmers of Darjeeling hills

HIMUL (Himalayan co-operative milk producers union Limited) was setup in 1973 with the fund of operation flood. The processing plant was setup at Khaprail in the plains.

Present day scenario: The 2 lakh (approx) hill farmers have stopped the supply of milk to Himul as the dues have amounted to over Rs 3 crores. According to sources the hill farmers have not been paid since April 2010. Himul today hardly collects 5000lts from the private farmers of the plains but this is also drying up as these farmers have also not been paid and the dues stands at over Rs 1 Crore.

Study conducted prior to the setting up of Himul had shown that the productivity of milk animals in the plains was far less than that of the hill areas. 18000 litres of milk was produced by the hill dairy farmers in comparison to the 7000 litres milk produced by the plains. The transportation time required for transport of milk from the hills to the plant was on an average of 8 hours. The situation was made far worse by the inefficient bureaucrats and the unprofessional attitude by the staffs of Himul.