KARACHl: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the city administration to sort out the issue of fixing fresh milk price with the consultation of all the stakeholders, including dairy farmers and retailers, within three weeks.

Headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, a two-judge bench was hearing a petition filed by a civil rights campaigner, Imran Shehzad, who had earlier moved the court for the reduction of rates of dairy products and formation of a task force to regulate their prices.

On Tuesday, the retailers reiterated that they were suffering financial losses on the sale of milk at Rs85 per litre and asked the court to direct the city administration to increase the retail price of the commodity.

However, the city commissioner said that present price of fresh milk was fixed after consultation with all the stakeholders, including dairy farmers and retailers.

The lawyer representing the dairy farmers told the court that the rate was fixed as per a federal act though a provincial law also existed.

`Water in the name of milk` Arguments between the administration and the dairy farmers irked the bench, which said: `You people are fighting on price fixation but nobody cares about the consumers, who are buying water in the name of milk`.

There was complete silence from the two sides when the court also questioned the quality of milk being provided to the citizens and asked them what the criteria was for ascertaining the quality.

The bench directed the commissioner to convene a meeting of all stakeholders to sort out this issue. It directed all the stakeholders to sort out the issue of price fixation within three weeks and submit a compliance report in court.