Mumbai faces milk crunch after floods in Western Maharashtra

Mumbai: Mumbai is facing a severe crunch in milk supply due to floods in Satara and Kolhapur districts, which are major suppliers.

Milk producers and dairies in these districts have suspended collection and sale of milk following incessant rain, flooding and closure of traffic.

“As the national highways leading to Mumbai are submerged, vehicular traffic is closed. The situation is likely to remain the same till the floods recede,” said a state official.

Kolhapur-based dairies supply large amounts of milk daily to Mumbai and surrounding cities such as Thane, Vasai-Virar, Panvel and Kalyan-Dombivali.

Mumbai receives about seven to eight lakh litres of milk in pouches from Gokul. The city receives three to four lakh litres of milk from Warana and two to three lakh litres from Chitale and other companies in a similar manner.

Fifty five lakh litres of milk is supplied through pouches and 25 lakh litres through tankers in Mumbai alone.

Gokul — a popular brand of the Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd — reports collection of 12 to 13 lakh litres in Mumbai every day.  

Sangli and Kolhapur are the milk producing districts of Maharashtra, accounting for 30 to 40 per cent of the 1.5 crore litres of milk collected in the state daily.

With Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts in the grip of flooding due to torrential rain over the last few days, roads and railway lines have submerged at several places.