But the budget proposals thrill fishery sector.
Captains of the dairy industry have expressed a clear dismay over the Karnataka budget proposal to double the subsidy to dairy farmers in the cooperative sector from Rs2 per litre to Rs4.
“It could be good money for the farmers, but it is a death blow for the dairy industry as a whole, as it has killed all private sector initiatives in the dairy industry,” said a large-scale dairy operator in the state. The subsidy has made procurement of milk very expensive for the private operators and soon many investors in this industry in Karnataka may choose to leave, the operator said.
The Tamil Nadu-based Hatsun dairy has stopped milk procurement and has closed down its five chilling plants in Karnataka. A Maharashtra-based operator in north Karnataka was also planning to scale down milk procurement by 50 per cent, unable to match the subsidy given by the government to the co-operative sector.
However, the chief minister’s home district Mysore has reacted positively to the “initiatives” in social and agriculture sectors. Chairman of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sudhakar Shetty termed Siddaramaiah’s budget as “pro-downtrodden and pro-people”.
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The micro level industrialists however appear to be unhappy as the budget is silent on reforms in the power sector. The power outages and sub-standard power supply is affecting both industry and agricultural sectors, they say. The agriculture sector gets a mere 3 hours of quality power, hampering agricultural output in the state. The industrial sector suffered due to the sub-standard power that damages machinery and slows down work.
The budget, however, has received rave response from the coast and Malnad areas. The coast was the happiest as the budget showered sops on fisheries.
Three new fisheries landing centres each in Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada will decongest the existing fishing ports in Mangalore, Malpe, Tadadi and Baithkol.
“Our boats will have less damage and also landing will be easier,” said Prakash Tandel, fishers’ leader.
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