Dispute in dairy leaves buffaloes to suffer

TUMKUR: The World Milk Day, celebrated on Wednesday, did nothing to help these 150 buffaloes suffering from udder swelling as a dispute between the owners of a dairy at a farm in Hattihalli village near Turuvekere has virtually closed down the unit leaving no one to milch them for over a week.
Three of the buffaloes have died and the remaining ones are getting weaker by the day. Sources said the owners Hareesh and Nataraj took Rs 1.19 crore loan from Canara Bank to set up the dairy unit and bought the buffaloes from Bihar some months ago. Their interest in the business diminished which resulted in mismanagement.Workers, including those who came from Bihar to look after the animals, left the job as they were not paid. The disappearance of owners in the last week was the final nail in the coffin.