Zaheerabad dairy farmers protest against firm’s refusal to buy milk

The farmers took out a rally and poured out several cans of milk on the road as a mark of protest on Thursday

Sangareddy: Dairy farmers of Zaheerabad area staged a protest accusing Hatsun Agro Products, which had a processing unit at Govindapur near Zaheerabad, of denying to purchase milk from local dairy farmers. The farmers took out a rally and poured out several cans of milk on the road as a mark of protest on Thursday.

One of the dairy farmer, B Vishnu, said Hatsun Agro Products company was purchasing one lakh litres of milk every day from Karnataka and Maharashtra farmers and refusing to purchase from farmers in Zaheerabad area. He said the farmers here were also ready to supply equal amounts of the milk to Hatsun. Stating that the Hatsun management had promised a host of benefits to the local community when the company was set up six years ago, Vishnu said the management had promised to give milch buffaloes to poor local farmers besides purchasing the milk from them.

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Another farmer P Mahipal Reddy said many local unemployed youth had set up new dairy units hoping to earn reasonable income to lead a decent life. However, the Hatsun management had dashed their hopes by refusing to purchase milk from them. They threatened to intensify their protest until the Hatsun management changed their decision. The dairy farmers also sought the intervention of the government into the matter.