Food, Civil supplies and consumer affairs department yesterday revised the rates for milk and other dairy items which seems to be a good but astonishing decision at the same time. Budgam and pulwama are the two districts in the valley which are leading in milk production and have been catering to the needs of Srinagar and other adjoining towns for many years now. The dairy farmers in these two districts of valley have been working really hard to bring the white revolution in Kashmir and have succeeded in making a mark in this field.
Dairy farmers have, for many years now, been demanding enhancement in the milk and associated product rates. Still, their demand has been met after very hectic efforts and ever rising inflation around. Government’s new rates for milk and other dairy products like cheese and Curd are considered relieving decisions but the common man has a very valid question to ask. If rates for loose milk per liter have been fixed at forty-five rupees, they have already been getting it costlier. Do government officials not know the market trends and rates of different essential-use items?
The fact of the matter is that government officials speculate and do not come out of their cozy offices to assess the ground situation and then make or frame a policy. With inflation rising with every passing day, Milk, cheese, and curd are sold at much higher rates than the government has recommended and this has made a joke of the FCS&CA fresh rate list. Dairy farmers have to spend huge amounts upon establishing and sustaining their farms and if their returns are mean, they will cease to run their business and it will land us into a crisis, we cannot handle. So the revision is good, but stakeholders must also be taken on board while making such decisions.
