New Delhi, August 27, 2022: Punjab Dairy farmers lifted their dharna outside Verka milk plant on Friday evening after a delegation of Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association (PDFA) held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who assured the contingent of clearing its pending dues by September 15.
The PDFA, along with BKU Kadian members, had locked the gates of Verka milk plant, Ludhiana, on August 24 and had been staging a dharna outside its premises since then.
PDFA president Daljit Singh Sadarpura said, “After the meeting with the Punjab CM on Friday afternoon, we decided to lift the dharna. The Punjab government is yet to pay Rs 35 per kg fat in milk to the farmers, though it had agreed to this demand on May 24. On Friday, Mann assured that the government’s share will be put into the accounts of farmers by September 15. He also mentioned that Punjab government will write to the Centre to declare lumpy skin disease as an epidemic so as to compensate the farmers whose animals have fallen prey to the disease.”
Talks were also held on bringing a bill in the state assembly to check adulteration in milk and milk products, BKU Kadian president Harmeet Singh Kadian said.
On account of the protest, the working of the Verka milk plant had been halted completely. The plant had been marketing 2.5 lakh litres of milk per day which was then routed through other plants of Verka located in Jalandhar or Mohali.
Meanwhile, a statement from the CMO said that the Punjab CM had acceded to all the genuine demands of the dairy farmers in the meeting held with the farmer delegation on Friday.
The CM assured the dairy farmers that the state government is committed to ensuring their well-being. The CM said that a group of ministers had been formed for effective control and monitoring of lumpy skin disease on a daily basis according to the reports published in indianexpress.com.
