Dairies remain closed as agitation enters second day
In Ahmednagar, some vehicles were intercepted but the police moved swiftly.
NASHIK and Pune: The milk producers’ agitation, which began on Monday, continued in Nashik and Ahmednagar on Tuesday, with nearly all milk dairies remaining shut even as 60 tankers left for Mumbai from Ahmednagar amid police security. Dairy corporation sources said that three major dairies in Nashik, Sinnar and Chandwad remained closed as there was no milk collection.
In Ahmednagar, some vehicles were intercepted but the police moved swiftly. Several Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) activists were sent notices, while about 40 persons were detained. SSS district chief Govind Pagar alleged that the government was trying to stifle the agitation using brute force. Meanwhile, hundreds of milk collection centres in the district remained closed, and farmers had to sell the milk for little or nothing in several villages.
SSS chief and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetti said that they stopped 20 of Amul’s milk tankers at Achad, Gujarat, before they could enter Maharashtra. The tankers were later sent back to the police. SSS activists emptied milk tankers at various places like Beed, Jafrabad in Buldhana, Sangli, Hada-psar and Kolhapur. Hanif Mujawar, police inspector, Bund Garden police station, Pune, said, “We called four SSS activists to the police station as they vandalised a milk tanker at Hadapsar in the morning. They will be freed after giving summons.”