GM milking Verka to build house

LUDHIANA: Most parts of the city may be reeling under an acute water shortage, but the Verka milk plant at Ferozepur Road appears to be overflowing with enough water for its general manager to build his house.
The flagrant misuse of official tanker (registration number PAT 6278) was noticed by Times News Network at the under-construction house of the plant''s GM PK Verma at Ranjit Nagar.Interestingly, Verma was supervising the work while water was being used from the tanker meant for supplying milk for laying lintel of the roof. An embarrassed Verma admitted that the tanker was being used without official permission.
"But, you see it''s just for emergency use," he said defensively. But sources in the plant''s employees union said the missue has been going on since the beginning of the construction some months ago. Verma also refuted allegations of using casual labour employed at the plant for the purpose.
When TNN approached him for his version, the security officer PC Bhumbla played a hide-and-seek game for quite sometime despite being present in the premises of the plant.
Security inspector Kirpal Singh had no idea about his officer''s availibility for two hours. The staff said they didn''t know about the movement of the said tanker out of the plant. One of them immediately closed the movement register and frantically put it away when told about the purpose of enquiry.
This perhaps explains why most of the top officials of the plant, including those who are no longer working there, built their houses during their postings at Ludhiana. In fact, one of the officers completed construction of his house hardly a month ago, said sources. All this is being done in connivance with the security staff of the plant, they added.
Plant chairman Raghbir Singh Saharanmajra said that nothing of this sort had come to notice so far. However, he promised to speak to the GM even as he was answerable to MD, Milkfed.