Aligarh :

In a quaint corner of the nondescript Aligarh village Cherat, time seems to have stopped several decades ago. A pile of rust iron, an old Ambassador, a dust-laden Royal Enfield, a few worn-out offices where locks are still hanging but the doors have given way — are all that is left of the iconic Aligarh Dairy Farm, set up in 1899 by the legendary Swedish dairy expert Edward Keventer.

The once sprawling farm seems like a ghost town now. It has rugged towers watching over a deserted stretch which is being gobbled up slowly by overgrowth of foliage. There are dilapidated quarters with no population and even a railway track which hasn’t seen a train in decades.

Keventer, who was appointed by the British government in 1890 to ensure good health of their soldiers in India, came to India the same year, strengthened his knowledge on dairy products and developed a unique and efficient dairy purification technique that marked the beginning of the Keventer saga. By 1899, he had established a strong network of dairy farms and plants, promoting modern dairy technology. He set the Aligarh Dairy Farm in the same year.

His business flourished and expanded rapidly across Karachi, Rangoon, Calcutta, Lucknow and Delhi, reaching its peak between 1908 and 1920. His dairy products became so popular that British King George V conferred on him a Royal charter for supply of fresh dairy and farm products.

Aligarh farm began to lose sheen soon after Keventer’s death in 1937 and the departure of the British from the country in 1947 further pushed it into oblivion.

In 1948, the Uttar Pradesh government took over this farm and renamed it Central Dairy Farm. It worked well until 1998 when it ran into losses and went out of business. Piling up liabilities as well as a host of court cases made it financially unviable, said officials.

Chief veterinary officer RK Yadav told TOI, “In 1948, the entire farm was given to the UP government. It was well-maintained and functioning. The ghee, butter, cream and pork was supplied to different states as well as the Army till 1998. After that, the farm stopped functioning because it came into losses and many court cases were filed against it. There are about 150 court cases against Central Dairy Farm at present.”

In another corner of the sprawling 1,700-acre Colonial-era farm, the state government runs a pig breeding centre, currently under the animal husbandry department.

As spiders listlessly make life-size cobwebs around the century-old farm’s rusted gate, its fate remains equally uncertain in the government files gathering dust in the faraway state capital.

“There are many court cases, and then there are different departments in the administration vying to get this farm. Some want to convert it into a green belt. Whatever the government decides will shape the future of this farm,” farm in-charge Abhinesh Pal Singh told TOI from Lucknow.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cit> Agra / by Eram Agha, TNN / September 09th, 2015