Lighthouse

Author(s): Udayvallabhvijay
Publisher: Pragna Prabodh Parivar

Page 36

One cannot take exception to the concern for the poor or the need to care for them. However, one needs to go to the root of the unfortunate fact as to why the poor are unable to get milk at cheap price. Milk product industries such as chocolate manufacturers, cheese manufacturers, butter manufacturers, milk powder and baby food manufacturers etc. unjustifiably corner milk which can feed lakhs of children. Milk is an item of daily necessity. This milk is appropriated or rather misappropriated by the above industries for their own personal profits. To meet the luxurious requirements of the affluent, the primary necessities of the weaker section of the society are snatched away. These necessities go beyond the reach of the poor. In order to maintain the high rates of milk, thousands of litres of milk is flown away into the sea. But it is not allowed to reach the poor at cheaper rates. If a country just throws away 3,60,000 tons of fresh milk every year, then according to scientific conclusions it amounts to damage to environment equivalent to creating 1,00,000 tons of carbon dioxide. If you talk in term of equivalent, this amounts to emission by 20,000 vehicles in a year. Instead of targeting such avoidable waste in the country or around the globe, if one talks about anointing the deity with a very small pot of milk, it is more of prejudice rather than impartial observation. When people question about offering rice grains, fruits or sweets to the deity, citing the shortage of food for the poor, that argument can also be met on the same lines. Presently, Lighthouse
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