Illegal dairies thrive in Yamunanagar, Jagadhri residential areas

Tribune News Service

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Yamunanagar, February 3

More than 150 unauthorised dairies are still operating in twin cities of Yamunanagar and Jagadhri as the Municipal Corporation Yamunanagar-Jagadhri (MCYJ) failed to shift those to four dairy complexes in the cities’ outskirts.

Four complexes on cities’ outskirts

• Four dairy complexes — one each in Kail, Darwa, Raipur and Aurangabad villages — situated in the outskirts of twin cities are spread over about 50 acres
• As many as 609 plots have been allotted to dairy owners in these complexes
• Sources say there were more than 350 dairies in twin cities, but only 194 had so far been shifted to these complexes

Locals complain of inconvenience and foul smell in the area as dairy owners throw dung in the open spaces, which are becoming breeding ground for mosquitoes. It is alleged that the MCYJ authorities took no concrete action against these illegal dairies.

“Heaps of dung can be seen lying in open spaces at numerous places in twin cities. Its smell is unbearable. These places have become breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies, causing health-related problems,” said Anil Kumar of Yamunanagar.

Himanshu of Jagadhri said wastewater of dairies and in some cases dung was discharged into drains, leading to problems of clogging and water pollution.

He said the MCYJ authorities had started a drive to close down unauthorised dairies, but the drive lost steam and dairies continued to flourish in residential areas. According to information, four dairy complexes — one each in Kail, Darwa, Raipur and Aurangabad villages — situated in the outskirts of twin cities are spread over about 50 acres. As many as 609 plots have been allotted to dairy owners in these complexes.

Sources said there were more than 350 dairies in twin cities, but only 194 dairies had so far been shifted to dairy complexes. The remaining 156 are still operating from twin cities.

A dairy owner in Jagadhri said the complexes, which lack even basic facilities, were far from the twin cities, so most of the dairy owners didn’t want to shift.

“The houses and dairy farms of most of the owners are situated in one building in city areas. Almost all family members help in dairy work because helpers are not easily available. It is not possible to shift houses in dairy complexes without all required facilities. Therefore, everyone wants to operate within the city instead of shifting to dairy complexes,” said the dairy owner.

Anil Nain, Chief Sanitary Inspector of MCYJ, said they were making efforts to make the city free of illegal dairies. “We regularly take action against unauthorised dairies. We are now planning to launch a drive to shift those to dairy complexes,” he added.

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