The government on Saturday ordered closure of five small and medium private dairy units in Erode for violation of rules.
A team of dairy development officers from Chennai carried out surprise checks at a number of units in the district and shut down five units. Officials said that some of the units had “exceeded the daily processing capacity” and a few others were “unlicensed.”
Terming the act unnecessary, milk producers claimed that the government had taken this step in order to increase the supply of milk to the Aavin.
Meanwhile, over 700 dairy farmers were arrested when they blocked the traffic at different parts of the district. Dairy farmers in Nambiyur, Ammapet and a few other places in the district also staged demonstrations.
Arrested
In Salem, senior functionaries of the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association, which spearheads the indefinite ‘stop milk' agitation, were arrested when they attempted to close down the office of Aavin Cooperative Union. The police prevented nearly 150 milk producers and members of the association from laying siege to an Aavin plant at Thalavipatti. They blocked traffic on the Steel Plant Road-Taramangalam Road, raising slogans against the government for not inviting them for talks.
