A bust of Verghese Kurien, the father of the White Revolution in India, will be unveiled at the headquarters of the Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers' Union (ERCMPU) in Edappally on Tuesday. The unveiling of the bust will be part of several initiatives by the milk union. The foundation for a 2-MW solar power plant will also be laid on Tuesday by Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry and Dairying L. Murugan.
The bust will be unveiled by Kerala Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development J. Chinchurani. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan will inaugurate the sale of a biography of Kurien and will also deliver the keynote address. Mathew Kuzhalnadan, MLA, will inaugurate the distribution of insurance money to dairy farmers.
The 2-MW solar power plant will make the regional milk cooperative’s processing plant the first in the country to fully operate on solar power. The National Dairy Development Board has supported the solar power project by providing ₹11.50 crore. The solar plant will generate the entire requirement of 27.47 lakh units. The surplus 58,000 units of power will be fed into the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) grid. The project will save the milk processing unit ₹1.60 crore a year in electricity charges.
ERCMPU Chairman John Theruvath said the cooperative was proving its social commitment by reducing its carbon footprint. The cooperative union had always been committed to energy conservation in the past and the establishment of the solar plant reiterated the commitment, he added.
The cooperative is engaged in helping dairy farmers produce milk with a view to procuring, processing and distributing it. The cooperative gives back to the dairy farmers about 83% of the sales turnover. Since the cooperative works on limited margins from its commercial operations, projects like the solar plant will help it to enhance income.
