Ponda: Troubled with the functioning of the Goa Dairy and decreasing milk sale of the Dairy, its farmers under the banner of Satya Shodhak Samiti demanded fresh elections to the Board of Directors by dissolving the previous board and also by withdrawing the Government appointed committee.
Farmer Dattaprasad Sanvordekar, Jayant Desai, Vikas Prabhu, Ramesh Naik and Vaibhav Parab made these demands by holding a press brief at Ponda on Wednesday. Farmers claimed that the official appointed on dairy’s affair by the government has failed to handle the dairy and are also involved in many irregularities, farmers alleged.
According to farmers, the government appointed officials had failed to improve its functioning by curbing the mismanagement and corrupt practices.
In the last two years the Dairy’s profitability has gone down drastically, its milk sale has reduced, local milk procurement has reduced and even cattle feed production has reduced affecting the entire business of the dairy the farmers claimed and the only thing that is on rise in the dairy is its losses. What’ the use of the government appointed committee, the farmers questioned expressing the present state of the dairy.
Two year back the Dairy’s average per day milk sale was around 75,000 liters which has presently come down to 52,000 liters per day, while cattle feed production was around 1400 metric tonne which has come down to around 960 tonne at present, the farmers said.
Further farmers said that postponement of the Annual General Body meeting over its legality was a scandalous thing; as three member committee of the Government had a chartered accountant, assistant registrar and a milk farmer in it, which are appointed by the government. How did they fail to take the Registrars permission to hold the AGM? questioned the famers. By doing so, the committee has wasted farmers’ money as another AGM will be held at the cost of farmers’ money they said.
In the academic year 2018-19 Goa Dairy had made a profit of around Rs 2.60 cr while in the year 2019-20 (tenure of Administrator) the dairy has suffered a massive loss of Rs 6.41 cr. These figures reflect the performance of the government appointed officials and it seems like Goa Dairy’s fortune is moving towards Sanjivani Sugar factory. Before such tragic end, the government should think of holding fresh elections and reconstituting the new board of directors on the dairy’s affairs, the farmers demanded.
It should be noted that these farmers were part of the group, which had agitated demanding dissolution of the Board for their corrupt practices in the year 2018 and following the agitation, an inquiry committee report unearthing the various scams in the dairy, the government had appointed an administrator to the dairy.