Some 1400-odd agents who sell Sumul Dairy milk in the retail market reached the collectorate in the evening and raised slogans against the district administration and the police, alleging that they were not doing their bit in checking such `fake' milk traders. The root of the problem is pouches of milk being sold under brand names like `Sumel', `Samal', etc, which closely resemble the Sumul brand. ``We have been selling Sumul milk for the past 30 years, and this is our only means of livelihood. Why can't the government ensure that people are not cheated by persons who sell brands of milk that closely resemble Sumul,'' asked Mehboob Alam Afzal, one of the leaders who submitted the memorandum.

``The name, design and packing of the pouches closely resemble that of Sumul, and people buy these without really having a close look,'' said Zulekha Bano Mehmood, another Sumul agent.

Making more serious allegations, the agents also stated that the milk of these brands was adulterated with water, chemicals and even soda ash. ``Not only are they (dairies) cheating Sumul us agents, they are also endangering the lives of people by adding poisonous elements,'' said Mansukh Kalawadia, an agent. ``If this is not checked in time, it will be another synthetic milk scandal like the one in UP,'' he added.

A few months ago, the Sumul Dairy itself attempted to deal with the problem by printing four-colour pouches in the hope that the enhanced printing costs would discourage piracy. This, however, has not helped much.

District collector Sangeeta Singh, who accepted the memorandum from the agents, assured them that she would look into the matter in a couple of days and take whatever action was necessary.