Mangaluru : Dr Veerendra Heggade Dharmadhikari of the Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala inaugurated the new production unit and cold storage of Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union at the KMF dairy premises in Kulshekar here on Tuesday April 5.

District in-charge minister Ramanath Rai released Nandini flexi pack milk and state minister Abhaychandra Jain released 500 ml butter milk packets to the market.

Speaking on the ocassion Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sericulture A. Manju suggested, D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala, to become the brand ambassador of Nandini products of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

He said that despite having a brand image and liked by many, KMF had failed to market its products when compared to Amul. He said that Mr. Heggade’s association with KMF would boost sales.

He said that Mr. Heggade would be the right choice as he has been promoting dairying through self-help groups of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, a non-governmental organisation.

Mr. Heggade, who too was on the stage, neither agreed with the suggestion nor rejected it, but offered just a smile.

KMF already has actors Puneeth Rajkumar and Ragini Dwivedi as its brand ambassadors.

When asked about the Minister’s proposal, P. Nagaraju, president of KMF, said that any suggestion would have to be placed before the KMF board before a decision is taken.

Health minister U T Khader, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLA J R Lobo, MLA Mohiuddin Bava, president of KMF P Nagaraj, SCDCC Bank chairman Dr M N Rajendra Kumar and others were present.