The Punjab State Cooperative Secretary Union and milk producers held a protest at the Verka Milk Plant in Ludhiana.
The Punjab State Cooperative Secretary Union and milk producers held a protest at the Verka Milk Plant in Ludhiana. The protestors accused the plant of severe corruption, highlighting the long-standing issues at both the Ludhiana and Mohali plants where officials are alleged to have embezzled lakhs of rupees worth of ghee and milk powder.
They also stated that the recent proposal to sell Verka to the Gujarat-based company Amul has further angered the milk producers and the secretary union. Hundreds of milk producers from all over Punjab gathered to voice their concerns.
District president of the union, Jasveer Singh Bhatti stated that the hard-earned money of milk producers is being misappropriated by corrupt officials, which they will not tolerate. The protesters accused Milkfed officials of stripping managing committees of their powers and continuously harassing milk producers with new regulations.
They warned that new milk purchase standards could result in a 50% loss of Verka’s milk supply. Verka has already refused to buy cow’s milk with less than 3.0% fat and buffalo’s milk with less than 5.0% fat. Also, those protesting this decision found the milk purchasing system locked, causing widespread distress among milk producers connected with Verka.
The protesters alleged that recently, a fraud case involving ₹40 lakh against Verka Ludhiana came to light, but no compensation has been provided, nor have the culprits been punished. The union warned that if the system is not unlocked, they will stage an indefinite protest at the Ludhiana plant starting August 12.
Prominent speakers at the protest included Jasveer Singh Bhatti, District President Jagtar Singh Dehdka from Bharatiya Kisan Union Dakoonda, Tarsem Singh Bassuwal, Charan Singh Noorupura and Gurpreet Noorupura from Bharatiya Kisan Union Ugrahan, former employee leader Rajinder Singh from PAYU, Pavittar Singh Lali from Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab, and several other leaders from various farmer unions.
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