Dairy-removal drive fizzles out

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar August 16

In the wake of the upcoming civic body elections, it seems that the Municipal Corporation (MC) has dropped the idea to remove the dairies from its limits. Earlier, the MC had initiated the drive with pomp and show and removed several dairies operational within the MC limits in May this year.

MC officials had claimed that the local bodies minister had instructed them to remove the dairies from the city and he had assured that no politician would interfere in the drive.

However, the health wing of the MC had seized a large number of cattle in May but the officials started getting phone calls from politicians.

An employee of the MC’s health wing said dairy owners were close to politicians of the incumbent government. They can easily remove the small dairy owners but it is not easy to remove the major dairies. “We need assistance of police to take action. Senior MC officials should lead the employees to remove big establishments,” said another employee.

There are more than 200 dairies within the boundaries of the MC. Following the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC), the MC had made efforts to remove the dairies from the city but “political interference” hindered the process.

Meanwhile, the dairy owners, who run their business in villages within the MC limits, claimed that the MC didn’t provide them any dairy complex for rehabilitation.