Accusing the Verka Milk Plant in Ludhiana of severe corruption, the Punjab State Cooperative Secretary Union and milk producers staged a protest outside the plant. The protestors highlighted long- standing issues at both the Ludhiana and Mohali plants. They alleged that officials had embezzled lakhs of rupees worth of ghee and milk powder.

The recent proposal to sell Verka to the Gujarat-based company Amul has outraged milk producers and the secretary union. Hundreds of milk producers joined the protest to voice their concerns, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

Jasveer Singh Bhatti, District President of the union, stated that the hard-earned money of milk producers is being embezzled by officials, which is not tolerable. He further accused officials of stripping managing committees of their powers and constantly harassing milk producers with new regulations. According to the HT report, they warned that new milk purchase standards could result in a 50 per cent loss of Verka’s milk supply. The protestors stated that Verka has already refused to buy cow’s milk with less than 0.3 per cent fat and buffalo’s milk with less than 5.0 percent fat. They also reported that the milk purchasing system was locked, causing widespread distress among milk producers connected with Verka.