A section of dairy farmers in Kothe Chet Singh village of Bathinda district has passed a resolution to fine anyone selling milk below Rs 80 per litre for cow milk and Rs 100 per litre for buffalo milk. Violators would be fined Rs 5,100, while informers would receive a reward of Rs 1,000.Similar videos by dairy farmers from other parts of the state have also gone viral on social media.Sukhpinder Singh, a dairy farmer from Kothe Chet Singh village, said a committee of 25 farmers had been formed on Jattvibeday and that its members had agreed to the demand for higher milk prices. He added that meetings on the issue were also planned in two neighbouring villages.The farmers said high-fat milk was fetching a better price, while low-fat cow and buffalo milk was selling for around Rs 25 to Rs 35 per litre, making dairy farming increasingly difficult for small farmers owing to rising input costs.Jagir Singh, another dairy farmer from Fazilka, said the price of cattle feed had increased considerably. The price of a 50-kg bag of cattle feed had risen from Rs 1,600-1,700 last year to around Rs 2,500.He added that the price of ‘toodi’ (dry fodder) had also risen to Rs 700 per quintal, placing an additional financial burden on dairy farmers. The cost of veterinary medicines has also increased sharply, the farmers claimed.According to farmers, an adult milch animal, whether a cow or buffalo, consumes nearly 8 kg of cattle feed a day, apart from fodder and other nutritional requirements.Waryam Singh, Director of the Dairy Development Department, Punjab, said only a few dairy farmers had made videos regarding the proposed price hike viral. He said Verka and Amul were currently paying around Rs 45 per litre for cow milk with 5 per cent fat, while buffalo milk with 8.5 per cent fat was fetching between Rs 76-84 per litre.The director, however, acknowledged that the input costs faced by dairy farmers had increased. He further said that the per-capita availability of milk in Punjab was around 1,300 grams per day, while the number of milch animals in the state had declined.