Indian soldiers in border now drink Hassan milk!

It is a matter of pride and happiness to the dairy farmers of Hassan that the milk they produce in their farm goes all the way to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to reach the Indian soldiers. The agreement in this regard was signed by the Chairman of the Hassan Co-operative Milk Producers' Societies Union Limited, HD Revanna.

Accordingly, the Hassan Dairy is bound to supply 50 lakh litres of Ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT) milk to the army. This milk can be stored for six months in normal as well as extreme cold conditions.

The Defence Ministry gives the annual quantity list of the milk to the National Co-operative Development Federation of India (NCDFI). The NCDFI, in turn, informs the Hassan Dairy which has won the tender (in current situation, Hassan) about the demand, which has to be met by the latter, keeping the quantity as well as quality in mind.

Hassan Dairy sends the UHT milk packed in specially designed packets through carton boxes. The quality of the milk is also checked by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Then the milk reaches the soldiers only after the NABL issues a certificate.

Already, the Hassan Dairy has supplied 4 lakh litres of UHT milk to the Lekhapani Army Base in Assam.

Apart from a good feeling that the Hassan milk is being used by the soldiers, the fact that this exercise has also proved profitable to the farmers has given the dairy farmers a reason to smile. Earlier, the excess milk was either being sent to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to convert into milk powder. This process was costly and farmers did not get a big profit from it. In fact, the Hassan Dairy was incurring loss because of this practice.

• Hassan Diary
• Milk for soldiers
• Soldiers in border areas
• UHT Milk