With farmer protest entering the fourth day, tricity residents are now feeling the pinch. After a shortage of fresh veggies and soaring prices, now milk shortage has also hit the town.
A high drama was witnessed as around 30 protesters stopped Kharar dairy farmers from depositing milk at the Verka plant in Phase 6 on Sunday evening.
The farmers’ union had been protesting outside the plant since Saturday but things got tense when they stopped around 100 dairy farmers at the gate around 8pm.
Meanwhile, vehicles loaded with milk containers kept queuing up on the highway. To maintain law and order, cops were deployed in large numbers and were seen pacifying farmers on both sides.
Protesters were adamant not to allow dairy owners from entering the plant while the latter who were waiting there for more than two years got agitated.
The plant authorities asked dairy farmers to deposit milk at some other plant to which they objected. They started started shouting slogans against the protesters and Verka authorities.
Diljeet Singh, a farmer from Shahpur village of Kharar, said: “I am worried my milk will get spoiled. I am carrying 1,000 litre of it. Who will be responsible for my losses?”
{{/usCountry}}Diljeet Singh, a farmer from Shahpur village of Kharar, said: “I am worried my milk will get spoiled. I am carrying 1,000 litre of it. Who will be responsible for my losses?”
{{/usCountry}}Another farmer, Jaspreet of Kharar, said: “My parents back home are worried, especially after incidents in other districts where protesters poured the milk on the road.”
Around 10pm, some farmer representatives entered the plant to negotiate with the authorities. Finally they reached a compromise, wherein dairy farmers were allowed to deposit milk on the promise that they would join the protest on Monday.
The dairy association president, Sukhdev Singh, said: “We have reached a compromise with the kisan union to allow us to deposit milk in the plant. Tomorrow we will join them and not sell milk to the plant.”