Chandigarh, August 6
The Chandigarh Periphery Milkmen Union and the Punjab Milkmen Union today accused vested interests, including multinational companies, for launching a concerted campaign to oust them for monopolising the milk trade in the region.

They said that while milkmen had a market share of nearly 90 per cent in Punjab and Chandigarh, the share of the organised sector, including milk cooperatives, was a mere 7 per cent in Punjab and a total 11 per cent in the region.

Objecting to samples of milk taken from unknown milkmen and tested at Verka laboratories, the milkmen held that Verka had neither any moral nor legal right to test the samples as the organised or public sector’s own credibility for supplying good quality milk products was doubtful.

The milkmen held that a vicious and concerted campaign was being launched by the organised sector as well as multinational companies as they wanted poor milkmen to be elbowed out of the trade.

“We are self employed people and have been serving people of the region for a long time. We have set up a forum where any consumer can come and complain against the quality of milk supplied to him. We have not received any complaint about the quality of milk for a long time. In fact, people of this region still prefer fresh milk to tonned or pasteurised milk. The milk supplied by the organised sector has been found to be contaminated many times. Even complaints of synthetic milk and milk made from urea and other chemicals have been reported by the media,” they said.

Led by Mr Prem Singh Bhangu of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), leaders of various unions of milkmen from Punjab and Chandigarh, including Mr Joginder Pal , Mr Amarjit Singh Landhran, Mr Hakam Singh, Mr Subash Sukhija, Mr Harjinder Singh, Mr Harjinderjit Singh and Mr Subash, the milkmen also held a dharna outside The Tribune office this afternoon. A deputation of milkmen also met Mr H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune group of newspapers.

They maintained that neither the names of the milkmen nor witnesses in whose presence samples were taken were mentioned in the reports carried by the newspaper early this week. They also maintained that samples could be taken only by food inspectors, which have to be tested at government approved laboratories.