Amritsar, Feb 16: Kavita Chaudhary, star of the popular Doordarshan serial "Udaan", died at a hospital here following cardiac arrest on Thursday night. She was 67.

The actor, also popular as the homemaker Lalita ji in the Surf detergent commercials in India in the late 1980s, was admitted to the hospital a few days ago.

"She passed away following cardiac arrest last night around 8.30 pm in Amritsar at the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital a few days ago due to low blood pressure. Her condition became critical later," Ajay Sayal, Chaudhary's nephew, told PTI.

The last rites were held here on Friday morning. The actor is survived by Sayal and her niece.

Chaudhary was best known for her portrayal of IPS officer Kalyani Singh in "Udaan", a progressive show about women empowerment, which ran on Doordarshan between 1989 and 1991.

Besides starring, she wrote and directed the serial, which was inspired by the life of her elder sister and police officer Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya.

"Udaan", which also starred Shekhar Kapur, revolved around the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. The critically-acclaimed show, which inspired a generation of women to pursue public service, was brought back on Doordarshan for a re-run during the pandemic.

Actor Amit Behl was one of the colleagues who paid condolences on Chaudhary's demise.

"RIP Kavita Chaudhary, is baar aapne lambi udaan bhar li,Naman @CintaaOfficial @nsd_india," he wrote on X.

Later, Chaudhary produced Doordarshan shows "Your Honour" and "IPS Diaries".

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New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.

The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.

Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.

"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.

The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.

However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.

There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.

KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.

The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.

With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.

State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.