No Aarey Milk for Mumbai second time in a 2 weeks due to farmers' row

The farmers' agitation has resulted in empty milk crates across the city

For the second time in a fortnight, Mumbaikars will get no Aarey Milk. Hours after a milk tanker was set ablaze by agitating farmers in the wee hours of Monday in Ahmednagar, milk supply has dried up. Aarey Milk's major supplier, the Aurangabad Regional Dairy, saw a dip of over 50 per cent in the daily collection of milk due to the farmers' bandh. To add to that, supply to the city will be further delayed, as the milk tankers will be escorted by the police from Aurangabad, as well as during the distribution rounds across Mumbai.

Dip in supply
Normally, the Aurangabad dairy collects 35,000 litres of milk every day, which is sent to Aarey dairy (25,000 litres) and Pune (10,000 litres). However, on Monday evening, the collection was merely 17,000 litres. All of this has been sent to Mumbai, while Pune will only receive milk that is collected later, if any.

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PP Mohod, Regional Dairy Development Officer (RDDO), Aurangabad confirmed, "The farmers' agitation has affected the supply of milk to our dairy by 50%. We have received only 17,000 litres of milk, and will therefore be sending a short supply of milk to Aarey late on Monday night for distribution on Tuesday morning."

Don't bother heading out to buy Aarey Milk today, there will be no supply anywhere in the city today. File Pic

Prasad Narvekar, an Aarey distributor, said, "We received intimation from the Aarey dairy around 8.30 pm on Monday, stating that milk will be supplied only to government hospitals and jails on Tuesday morning."

Another distributor warned that empty milk crates might become a common sight if the farmers' agitation is not called off and if the state government does not increase the price it pays to dairy farmers for milk. mid-day had reported on this price war on May 22, the last time the city went without Aarey Milk, because the farmers refused to supply milk to Aarey for Rs 5 less per litre than what private players are paying. Currently, the government pays Rs 24 per litre, while private firms pay Rs 29-Rs 30 per litre. The state is supposed to announce a price hike on June 20.

Police escort
As of now, the main concern is preventing any untoward incident, said Mohod, adding, "After the arson incident, we have decided to go strictly by the police's advice. If the police advise not to venture out, we won't take any risks. The cops are providing escorts for our tankers from Aurangabad to Mumbai."

While this will help keep the tanker drivers and distributors safe, it will also mean that milk supply will be delayed as the tankers move from one police jurisdiction to another. At each location, the tankers will have to wait for the local police escort team to join them.

TD Kulkarni, general manager of the Aarey dairy at Worli, said, "Our priority will continue to be supplying to hospitals and government institutions. On Sunday, we had managed to get 25,000 litres of milk. We will have to check the stock in hand and the number of tankers that arrive on Monday night, before planning the distribution for Tuesday."

Hospitals prepare
Meanwhile, BMC-run hospitals are making arrangements in case their milk supply dries up in the coming days. A dietician at one of the hospitals said, "Newborns can be given mother's milk, while children above one year, will be fed lactogen as an alternative. For making tea, six litres of milk is sufficient, which can be still managed with tetra packs from the market."

"If the vegetable supply is affected, we will have to rely on sprouts, rich in protein. Non-diabetic patients can be given potato," the dietician added.