Cuttack: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday inaugurated a modern and fully-automated mega dairy plant of Omfed at Arilo under Barang block in Cuttack district. It is the biggest plant in the state which has been installed at a cost of Rs 263 crore, an official source informed.
“Omfed belongs to our farmers and is the contribution of over three lakh people of the community. It was established with an aim to protect the farmers’ interests. The state government always stands with them. The plant will help millions of milk producers and enhance their income capacity,” Patnaik said while inaugurating the plant.
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The plant is capable to process five lakh litre of milk a day. It is equipped with advanced machinery to produce various products such as milk powder, cheese, paneer and butter. Milk powder can be produced from two lakh litre of milk per day, the source informed.
“Processing capacity of the mega plant would be enhanced to five lakh litre of milk per day. The ambitious project would also have training and research centres on its premises in future,” the official added.
A public meeting was also organised on the occasion. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra and Agriculture, Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development minister Arun Sahoo along with others were present during the inauguration.
On the other hand, though tight security was put in place, hundreds of BJP workers and activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged protests at Trisulia Square and other places in Cuttack earlier in the day prior to Chief Minister’s visit to the district.
They demanded the resignation of Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra for his alleged association with Gobinda Sahu – the prime accused in Kalahandi school teacher Mamita Meher murder case.
PNN