In spite of the Maharashtra dairy farmers’ agitation for hike in milk prices, milk supply to major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik remained unaffected on Monday. Striking framers waylaid some milk tankers and spilled the milk on the streets.

The farmers, led by MP and President of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), Raju Shetti, are seeking at least ₹5 more per litre. They are also demanding a GST waiver on skimmed milk powder and butter.

Across Maharashtra, dairies are procuring cow’s milk in the range of ₹17 to ₹25 per litre. Buffalo milk is procured at ₹35 to ₹37 per litre. At the retail level, milk depending on the quality and location, is sold at ₹44 to ₹60 per litre.

The issue was raised at the State Legislature in Nagpur on Monday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that the government was ready for talks. But the way the current protest is going on is not right, he said.

Fadnavis promised that milk supply would not be affected.

Dairy Development Minister, Mahadev Jankar said Mumbai requires over 70 lakh litres of fresh milk daily but the city has buffer stocks for 15 days. Other areas need over 1 crore litre, with Pune and its suburbs requiring 13 lakh litres daily.

Shetti said the Maharashtra government had fixed the procurement costs of ₹27 per litre but the farmers were getting only ₹17 per litre. So the farmers are demanding a direct subsidy of ₹5 per litre as provided in Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

Former president of Indian Dairy Association and Board member of Gokul dairy Arun Narke told BusinessLine that the problem of milk procurement cost has been persisting for the last one year.

The State government has woken up to issue only after the farmers have gone on strike, he said.

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