MADURAI: Milk agents in Madurai have raised concerns over the inconvenience caused by Aavin’s insistence on online payments through its mobile application, claiming the process is time-consuming and impractical, especially during bank holidays. They also alleged that Aavin staff refuse to issue receipts when payments are made offline at zonal offices.
According to sources, there are over 3,000 milk agents in Madurai districts, including around 600 in Madurai city.
K Rupan, Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Association deputy secretary, said, “Aavin is insisting on advance payment via their online application PaySharp for purchasing milk. So the agent must deposit money into their bank and then transfer it to Aavin via the app. This is a time-consuming process, and there are practical difficulties when it comes to weekly and government holidays for banks.”
A milk agent from Madurai said, “I am operating two agencies for selling Aavin products, and due to the inconvenience in making digital payments, my workers used to pay at the Arapalayam zonal office. Although staff recorded the transaction, they never gave the receipt for the payment. This has been happening for the last several months. While the milk is delivered promptly without any disruption or malpractice, the lack of receipts creates problems in maintaining proper accounts. When private milk companies give receipts, why is Aavin hesitant?”
Speaking to TNIE, a top official from Aavin (Madurai) said, “The purpose of implementing digital payments is to smoothen the transaction and reduce manpower. Besides, these transactions are also documents. But some milk agents feel paying to banks and then transferring to Aavin is a tedious task. For those unable to pay online due to bank holidays, they are allowed to deposit the money at the zonal offices. The denomination slip can be used as a receipt in such cases. Unfortunately, some zonal office staff are not providing the receipts either. We will organise a meeting soon and instruct the staff to stamp and issue the denomination paper as a receipt.”