Unions to stop milk supply to Mumbai, Pune

PUNE: Mumbai and Pune may face a shortage of milk in the next few days. Farmer organisations are gearing up to cut milk supplies to Mumbai, Pune and other cities in western Maharashtra starting from Monday as they seek fair returns for their produce by way of direct subsidy. They also plan to block milk supplies to Mumbai from neighbouring Gujarat and Karnataka states.

A section of dairy farmers have said they will increase milk prices by Rs 3 a litre from July 21. However, the Swambhimani Shetkari Sangathana (SSS), which was part of the BJP-led government in the state until a year ago, before withdrawing support, is firm on cutting off milk supplies to Mumbai and Pune, starting from Monday.

After the SSS called for a strike by milk farmers, the state government announced a subsidy of Rs 50/kg for export of milk powder and Rs 5/litre of milk export to dairies. The Gujarat government offered subsidy of Rs 300 crore for export of milk powder from the state, starting July 1. However, SSS founder-leader Raju Shetty wants the subsidy to be given directly to milk farmers instead of dairies.