Day 3: Farmers call for transport stir to stop milk supply to Maharashtra

Protesting dairy farmers in Maharashtra have called for a transport strike on Thursday and threatened to block streets with a sit-in, raising fears of a shortage of milk in Mumbai and its adjoining areas. Wednesday was the third day of the strike by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), which is demanding higher prices for milk at the procurement stage.

Although the agitation has succeeded in reducing daily milk collection by more than half, supply to Mumbai and adjoining areas has so far remained unaffected, mainly because of stored stock. According to officials, against the normal daily supply of 51 lakh litres, the state received only 49 lakh litres of milk from the dairies on Wednesday. “This was because the dairies had supplied 53 lakh litres of milk on Tuesday,” said an official. By the day’s end, the stored stock in Mumbai had fallen by 22 lakh litres to 58 lakh litres. The city consumes 35-40 lakh litres of milk every day.