Other States - Orissa   

Milk producers stage novel demonstration

CUTTACK: Scarcity of milk and milk products was witnessed in Cuttack city on Friday as district milk producers snapped the supply observing a day of token strike demanding increase of prices of their produce. Instead, the road in front of the district Collector’s office was flooded with milk as milk producers claim they poured over 10,000 litres of milk on the road.

“We did it to draw home the point that the milk producers of the State are in dire strait and if the government does not look into our demands favourably we would be forced to snap the supply of milk in the city indefinitely”, threatened the Utkal Jadhav Mahasabha president Subash Behera.

Earlier in the day over 2,000 milk producers of the district came in a rally from College Square and demonstrated in front of the Collector’s office.

Before submitting a memorandum to the Collector, the agitators poured nearly 100 cans of milk on the road as mark of their protest against the State government’s recent decision to stay the increase of Omfed milk price.

Milkmen across the State are demanding hike in prices of their products in view of rising cost of fodders and cattle feed.

The milkmen are aggrieved over what they call “exploitation attitude” of Omfed and the State government’s nonchalant approach towards the plight of milk producers.

While over 62 lakh milk producers are in the State, about 2,000 of them supply milk in Cuttack city.

The milkmen are demanding that Omfed should pay them Rs. 18 per litre instead of Rs. 11.80 given at present. Omfed had recently increased its retail price to Rs. 24 from Rs. 20 promising to pay the entire increased amount to farmers.

But the State government stayed the price hike in view of State-wide agitation against the move.

The State government’s decision has irked the milk producers most.

Speaking on the logic behind destroying such a large quantity of milk when the customers across the city suffered, the agitators claimed that they have distributed milk to poor people in slum areas free of cost while a chunk of their produce was poured on the road.

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