Chennaiites may not be affected by the non-availability of milk if a plan by the state-owned Aavin to produce more than two lakh litres milk additionally soon materialises.
Aavin, which has three dairy farms in the city and another in the suburbs, presently markets more than 10.6 lakh litres of milk a day in Chennai.
The proposal envisages strengthening of the existing refrigeration system and packing facilities besides increasing the storage capacities at a total cost of Rs 6.06 crore at the Madhavaram, Ambattur and Sholinganallur dairies, according to sources.
Also on the cards is an increase in the sale of milk in the city by strengthening the infrastructure at Kakkalur dairy at an outlay of Rs 3.65 crore.
There have been some complaints about Aavin “Nice” packets being in short supply. These blue-coloured sachets were in demand because of the low fat content. In certain pockets in south Chennai, the sachets get sold out within hours of distribution starting at the outlets.
Local retail outlets provide the Aavin green magic and Aavin orange sachets.
Measures that have been planned state-wide to enhance milk production include artificial insemination services by producing around 21 lakh frozen semen straws at Nucleus Jersey and at the ISO certified Udhagamandalam stud farm and installation of 10 bulk milk coolers.
Further, with mercury levels shooting up much ahead of the advent of summer and also because of the overwhelming demand for Aavin ice cream, the authorities have planned to expand the ice cream plant in the Ambattur dairy complex soon.
This is expected to not only meet the requirement of the metro but also bolster the profitability of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation, familiarly known as Aavin. At present, Ambattur diary is functioning with limited capacity and equipment. However, the gap between demand and supply would be bridged.