Dairy farmers stage protest by pouring milk on road at Raisunguda in Cuttack on Saturday | EXPRESS
CUTTACK: Dairy farmers of Raisunguda Milk Producers’ Cooperative Society in the district on Saturday poured hundreds of litres of milk on the road protesting non-procurement of milk by Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (OMFED). More than 50,000 dairy farmers of the district registered under OMFED to sell their milk are in dire straits as the federation has stopped procuring milk from them due to lockdown. “Dairy farming is the only source of our income.
We are in a huge problem as OMFED has suddenly stopped procuring milk and supplying fodder citing decrease in demand and sale of milk products. As milk is a perishable item, it cannot be stored for long time,” said Sarat Samal, a dairy farmer of Raisunguda in Salepur. The State Government had assured that milk procurement will not be affected due to the lockdown, but to no avail. “We are also unable to sell milk in local markets as tea stalls and sweet shops have remained shut.
This apart, cattle feeds are now being black-marketed,” said the farmers. Secretary of the society Amaresh Pradhan said, “The Government had directed the federation to procure milk twice a day from the farmers. Accordingly, OMFED collected milk from us for two days but stopped it on Saturday.” They urged the Government to supply fodders at subsidised rate for survival of their cows. General manager of Cuttack Milk Union Bidyadhar Sahu, however, avoided to comment on the matter.
