Minister Swamy assures full support to dairy farmers

Ongole: Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy assured full support to dairy farmers while inaugu-rating a mini-Gokulam shed in Maddipaadu village on Friday. Speaking at the programme, which was also attended by District Collector A Thameem Ansariya and local MLA B N Vijay Kumar, the Minister announced that under the Pallepanduga programme, the government has sanctioned 1,131 sheds in the district, of which 1,040 have been initi-ated and 474 completed.

He said that the State government is providing these mini-Gokulam sheds at 90 per cent subsidy in three categories based on the number of cattle owned - Rs 1.15 lakh for farmers with two cattle, Rs 1.85 lakh for four cattle, and Rs 2.30 lakh for six cattle. He said that similar subsidies of 70 per cent are being offered for poultry, sheep and goat farmers.

The Minister highlighted Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s vision of creating an entrepreneur from each family, with a special focus on supporting rural dairy farmers. With Sankranti approaching, he said that the government has planned inauguration ceremonies across the State from January 10-12. He also mentioned the possibility of establishing cattle hostels for farmers lacking space for shed construction and assured loan support through various corporations for self-reliant individu-als.

Animal Husbandry Department joint director Baby Rani, DWAMA PD Joseph Kumar, DPO Venkata Naidu, district social welfare officer Laxma Nayak, tahsildar Sujan Kumar, other officials and local representatives attended.