Mumbai: With the milk crisis worsening and chances of supply to the city being affected becoming higher, the Gujarat Dairy Development Corporation Ltd. has approached the Western Railway (WR) for help. Now, the railway will be bringing in 12 tankers of milk to Mumbai over the next six days.
Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR, said, “We immediately made arrangements for the same. The additional milk tankers are being attached to the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central passenger train.” These tankers will be in addition to two tankers currently transporting milk to the city on the Saurashtra Express every day. Each milk tanker wagon with a capacity of 44,000 litres will be attached to the trains at Anand in Gujarat, the home of milk co-operative Amul.
The milk trains could be delayed by heavy rain in Gujarat on Tuesday, which led to several trains being cancelled and short-terminated. The WR is busy restoring tracks in Rajkot division.
DCP Deepak Deoraj, spokesperson, Mumbai Police, said milk tankers from Kolhapur have reached the city. “They will be given due protection. All police stations in Mumbai have been informed to inspect every milk tank for safety.”
Local milk suppliers, like Airoli-based Tirth Enterprises, remained apprehensive. An employee, who declined to be named, said, “We have enough stock for two days. If the tankers arrive, we might be able to supply for another three or four days. If the situation persists, it’s going to be a big problem.”
On Tuesday, members of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Palghar, approached District Collector Prashant Narnaware with farmers’ complaints. They were assured by Mr. Narnaware that the issues will be sent to the State government. “There have been some protests in Palghar. We have asked the police to be on guard. Milk suppliers have enough stock for two days. If the situation persists, we’ll have to approach private agencies.”
The ‘milk blockade’ called by the Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) has impacted milk supply to several other cities. Protesters targeted milk vans and tankers at various entry points to cities.
The SSS also said it would launch a movement to ensure no milk is brought in from States like Gujarat and Karnataka. It also said farmers are ready to continue the blockade indefinitely to press for an increase in the price of milk by ₹5 per litre.
Swastik Patel, personal assistant to Mr. Shetti, said only two or three milk powder plants have agreed to the price hike of ₹3 per litre. “Gujarat has stopped sending milk. Nashik and Solapur can provide only 10-20% of the required amount. The big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, will feel the impact of the blockade from July 18.”
