PONDA: Two dairy farmers supplying milk to Goa Dairy began a fast unto death on Tuesday demanding Rs 5 hike in purchase price of cow milk per litre and removal the Managing Director (MD) Navso Sawant for “mismanaging” the affairs of co-operative milk producer.
Farmers Anup Priolkar and Sanjeev Cuncolenkar are on hunger strike in front of Goa Dairy gate at Curti.
Explaining the reason for only two of them sitting on a hunger strike, Anup Priolkar said, “We, the farmers, cannot sit together on hunger strike all at a time. Therefore, two of us have begun the agitation.”
And explaining the reasons for demanding hike in milk price, he said, “We work hard, but suffer losses by supplying milk to Goa Dairy. We are not paid proportionate to the hard work that we put in. If a cow dies due to illness, we suffer loss to the tune of Rs 1 lakh. Goa Dairy does not share its profits with us by way of bonus and hike in milk prices. However, the staffers are paid as per the Seventh Pay scale.”
Justifying their demand for the removal of Sawant, Priolkar said, “Our animals are deprived of medicines and fodder at cheaper rates and this is because of the failure of Sawant. Though the Board of Directors takes farmers’ friendly decisions, he does not implement them.”
He claimed that earlier Goa Dairy was selling 90,000 litres of milk per day, but the same is down to 60,000 litres. Similarly, he said, the cattle feed plant was running on ‘no profit and no loss’ basis, but it is incurring losses now due to mismanagement of Sawant.
“We have no option than to protest,” he lamented.
Ponda PI Suraj Harlarnkar and his force were present to maintain law and order.
