Ongole: The debt ridden Prakasam district milk producers company, popularly known as Ongole Dairy , is sinking into further troubles as the state government has failed to give the promised funds.The new management board, which comprises senior officials, is finding it difficult to tackle the situation as the diary’s debts have reportedly touched Rs 90 crore in the last three months. They could not make any progress to clear the old dues.The state government had promised to help out the dairy with Rs 35 crore to bring its operations on the track. However, in reality, the government provided the dairy with only Rs 15 crore that did not help the management clear even 15 per cent of the debts.Though the government asked the new board to clear the dues to the milk producers on priority, the board members said that they have paid around Rs.4 crore to the farmers, while the total outstanding comes around Rs.20-Rs.25 crore.The board resumed the collection of milk last week by promising the farmers to clear entire dues by the month end. However, the milk producers are unwilling to join hands with the dairy as the board failed to clear their dues. The dairy which set a target of collecting at least 40,000 litres of milk per day, could not procure event 2,000 litres due to the non-cooperation from the farmers.The dairy, which has the capacity to handle around 2 lakh litres a day, also owns a milk powder making factory , which used to produce the powder during the peak season when the milk production was less than the demands in the market.The new management did not even go deep into the accounts handled by the previous management to identify the culprits who pushed one of the best dairies in the state into debt trap. Sources said that the state government had asked the new management headed by the commissioner of cooperative societies only to oversee the daily operations and protect the dairy from the bankruptcy.“The government is deliberately allowing the dairy to face the natural death. It is not keen either to revive the dairy or nab the offenders who looted the money of the farmers pushing the dairy into deep debts,” alleged former minister and YSRC district unit president Balineni Srinivasa Reddy. Denying the charges, local MLA and district TDP president, Damacharla Janardhan said that the government is committed to revive the dairy and save the farmers.

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