Milkmen protest
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 16 2013: Members of the Manipur Milk Producers Cooperative Union Limited, also known as Milk Union in short today staged a protest demonstration in front of their Porompat office against the alleged faulty policies of the Cooperation Department.

The protest demonstration participated by milk producers and suppliers from Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur Thoubal, Churachandpur and Senapati demanded immediate resignation of Cooperation Minister AK Mirabai as well as the Cooperation Registrar and the Additional Registrar.

They put placards which read as "cooperative societies in Manipur are as good as dead", "Cooperation Minister must resign", "Don't harass farmers in order to please some corrupt individuals", "Cooperation Department violates rights of cooperative societies" etc.

Ch Ramananda who has been elected Chairman of the Milk Union Board of Directors but still kept non-functional said that farmers were constrained to launch the protest agitation on account of the faulty policies of Cooperation Department.

On August 31 this year, a 10-member Board of Directors was elected.

On October 5, Ramananda was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors and his election as Chairman was approved by the Cooperative Registrar on November 18 .

In the meantime, proceedings of a meeting convened by four of the Board of Directors was submitted to the Registrar on November 14.At the insistence of Minister Mirabai to follow the proceedings of the particular meeting, the concerned Under Secretary issued an order in this regard.

What is surprising is the forceful implementation of the proceedings of a meeting convened by minority four directors, Ramananda said.

Moreover, intense lobbying is going on to induct two retired employees, S Shantikumar and L Saratchandra into the union by extending implementation period of the third and fourth phases of the Dairy Development Programme sanctioned by the Union Agriculture Ministry.

Shantikumar is former Managing Director of the Milk Union.

He was suspended and is currently facing a departmental enquiry.

It would be much better for Saratchandra and Shantikumar to retire from the Union in the larger interest of farmers, Ramananda said.

Meanwhile, former chairman of the Milk Union Board of Directors Dhananjoy Thingomba has been lobbying to re-join the union by setting up different cooperative societies.

Notably, members of the union staged an unusual protest demonstration on the same issue on October 26 by spilling milk at the union's office, Sanjenthong Veterinary office and the office of the Registrar.

Comment