Pune: Due to the floods in Kolhapur and Sangli, the milk crunch in the city continues as the supply of buffalo milk has reduced by 30 per cent. The procurement of milk has reduced and dairies are uncertain about when the situation will become normal and dairy officials say it might take a month or more.
Maharashtra Milk Producers & Processors Association Secretary Prakash Kutwal said, “Due to floods in Kolhapur and Sangli, there is 30 per cent shortage of buffalo milk in the city, while the total consumption for buffalo milk in the city is five lakh litres.”
“Due to the recent floods, 90 per cent of procurement in Gokul was affected and Warana is working partially. Other dairies such as Chitale, Thote and Krishna have been affected. We have no idea when the situation will return to normal. We don’t know how many cattle died and how many landed at other places due to floods. It will take a month or more for the situation to return to normal. Most of the farms were in low-lying areas near rivers,” added Kutwal.
Vinayak Patil, owner of Krishna Dairy based in Sangli said, “Due to the floods, there was 30 per cent reduction in procurement of milk. Usually we procure 2.5 lakh litres while at present we were able to procure only 1.75 lakh litres of milk.”
“Due to floods, cattles’ health has been affected. The cattle feed is not of good quality. Therefore, the situation is grim,” added Patil.
Chitale Dairy Partner Girish Chitale said, “At Chitale, there is 20 to 30 per cent reduction in milk procurement as the farms were caught in floods. If dry weather continues for a week, flood water will recede, connectivity will increase and we will be able to get clarity. After that restoration work will start, which will take a month. We hope there is not more than 15 per cent of cattle loss in this flood or the situation will be bad as we are already facing the wrath of last year’s drought.”
