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Karnataka Today newsletter: KMF increases Nandini milk prices by ₹2 for extra 50 ml per sachet, and more

Close on the heels of the Karnataka government increasing the prices of petrol and diesel, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has decided to hike the price of milk by ₹2 a litre. The cost of a litre of Nandini toned milk in Karnataka will now be ₹44. The price hike will come into effect from Wednesday, June 26.

Taking serious exception to the price hike, the Opposition BJP and JD(S) ridiculed the Congress government for rubbing salt into the wounds of people already distressed by the hike in fuel and vegetable prices. Amid such sharp reactions from the Opposition, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah later clarified that henceforth every packet of Nandini milk will have 50 ml extra milk and the ₹2 hike by KMF was towards that increased volume.

Currently, the 500 ml toned milk packet of Nandini costs ₹22. Now, KMF will replace this with a 550 ml packet at a revised cost of ₹24. Similarly, the 1000 ml (1 litre) packet which was priced at ₹42 will now be sold as 1,050 ml sachet at ₹44.

This is the second price hike in less than a year. In July 2023, the KMF had hiked the price by ₹3 a litre. Though it had sought ₹5 hike, the State Government had allowed a hike of ₹3 per litre. According to him, despite the price hike, the cost of milk is still cheaper in Karnataka compared to neighbouring states.

Catholic Sabha Mangaluru Pradesh, Dakshina Kannada Samana Manaska Sanghatanegala Janti Vedike and residents on June 24, submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan to permanently prohibit illegal sand extraction in and around Pavoor-Uliya Kudru in Netravathi River, for the benefit of Kudru residents.

The delegation said that despite there being no permit to extract sand, the sand mafia has been engaged in extraction thereby reducing the size of the Kudru to a substantial extent. The Kudru, inhabited by about 55 families and comprising mangroves and other vulnerable flora, was on the verge of extinction due to this.

Southern Railway’s Palakkad division has said modernisation of the existing paid air-conditioned waiting halls in six of its prominent stations, including Mangaluru Central, has been completed. Adults, including children above 5 years, would be charged ₹30 per hour, or part thereof.