Lalitpur, October 29:

Lack of electricity in the southern VDCs of Lalitpur district has affected dairy production.

It has affected the installation of a chilling plant in Manikhel VDC, which would have provided a system to store at least 6,000 liters of milk everyday, said Krishna Sapkota, president of Lalitpur District Milk Production Cooperatives Association (LDMPC). He added that 14 VDCs of Lalitpur produce more than 30,000 litres of milk everyday on an average but unpredictable market and lack of transportation are hampering dairy farming in the region.

“In the first place, we do not have proper infrastructure to transport milk, and the lack of chilling plants to store has further affected the business,” he said.

He further said that the LDMPC had constructed a chilling plant in Manikhel but delay in electrification of the village development committee has rendered the plant useless.

Although there are already two chilling plants: a private one in Tikabhairab with the capacity of 5,000 litres per day and another one in Lele with the capacity of 10,000 litres per day, the growth of dairy farming demands more infrastructure and facilities to support the farmers, he said.

Meanwhile, Gopal Sangel, president of South Lalitpur Rural Electrification Cooperatives, said the programme of electrification in the region has been delayed due to inaction on the part of the Nepal Electricity Authority.