Haveri district’s dairy industry is facing a major setback due to rising concerns over milk adulteration. Although it produces an impressive 1.3 lakh litres of milk every day, only around 20,000 litres are processed and sold as branded packaged milk.

Despite surpassing Dharwad Milk Union in raw milk output, Haveri struggles with poor market visibility due to unethical practices by a few cooperative societies. Out of 445 societies in the district, just 240 have operational quality testing labs. Additionally, 32 societies are equipped with chilling plants, each storing up to 3,000 litres.

However, sources reveal that some powerful cooperative secretaries tamper with the milk by mixing water, sugar, and even urea before dispatching it to the union. This malpractice has led to the rejection of Haveri’s milk in multiple regions. Recently, 12,000 litres were turned down during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, and authorities in Goa also declined shipments citing substandard quality.

The Nandini Good Life UHT processing unit in Jangamanakoppa, run under a public-private partnership, has also been affected. The unit, previously receiving 30,000 litres daily, halted operations for 15 days due to equipment failure, adding to the union’s troubles.

Only a fraction of collected milk goes into packaged products, while 30,000 litres are diverted to welfare schemes and dairy product manufacturing, leading to significant monetary losses.

Union president Manjanagouda Patil admitted to the crisis and emphasized their renewed focus on quality control and stricter enforcement.