Corrupt Milk Vita officials to be punished: State Minister
Stern actions will be taken against corrupt Milk Vita officials and engineers to stop irregularities at the state-owned entity, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Swapan Bhattacharjee said Tuesday.
He came up with the warning at Milk Vita's special general meeting and management committee election at the Dugdha Bhaban in Dhaka.
Swapan recognised irregularities at Milk Vita and said corruption stemmed the growth of cooperatives in Bangladesh.
He also warned of taking action against private dairy farms that evade taxes.
The state minister asked the Milk Vita management to infuse dynamism into its marketing department and come up with plans to minimise losses.
Rural Development and Cooperatives Division (RDCD) Secretary Md Kamal Uddin Talukder said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman set up Milk Vita to meet the nutritional demand of the country's poor people. "We want to develop our local sector so that we don't have to import milk," he said.
Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Registrar and Director General Md Abdul Majid said a vested quarter in Milk Vita is out to create obstacle to its flourish, underscoring the need for laying them off. "We hope the newly elected committee will help the chairman bring discipline in the institution."
Milk Vita's new committee
Sheikh Nadir Hossain Lipu was elected chairman while Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lablu vice-chairman of Bangladesh Milk Producers' Co-Operatives Union.
Besides, Hosne Ara, MP, Md Najim Uddin Haider, Tapon Kumar Ghosh, Abdullah Al Hadi and Mohammad Abdus Samad Fakir were elected as members for the next three years.
Speaking on the occasion, the Milk Vita union chairman said, "We have to find out all corrupt officials of the institution and take stern action against them."
"We should take initiatives properly so that farmers get fodder in time. Farmers allege that they don't get support from Milk Vita officials properly. I believe our new members will support them and develop this institution," he added.
Abdus Samad Fakir, Samobay Samity president of Sirajganj Baganbari, urged the authorities concerned to vaccine cattle that are brought from India, saying those spread various diseases here.
