“Drink milk for free instead of looting us,” dairy farmers in Maharashtra distribute free milk to politicians

“Drink milk for free instead of looting us,” dairy farmers in Maharashtra distribute free milk to politicians. In a statewide protest starting from May 3, the dairy farmers in the state will distribute milk free of cost to protest against the low price given by dairies.

Reoprts suggest that farmers will distribute milk in chowks and leave their milk outside the offices of the district collectors and tehsils. “We will invite BJP MLAs, MPs and party representatives to drink milk. We want to tell them that instead of looting us, take our milk free of cost,” said Dhananjay Dhorde, one of the organisers of the protest.

The new form of protest was originated in a gram sabha in Lakhganga village in Aurangabad. Low milk prices were one of the key reasons for the strike last year, which led to the implementation of a procurement price of cow milk as Rs 27 per litre. But, the dairies procure the milk for barely Rs 15 to Rs 20 per litre from the farmers. So, they demand strict enforcement of promised procurement price.

“The cost we incur for each litre of milk produced is over Rs 30. We are getting just half this price from dairies. We want the government to enforce the procurement price set at Rs 27,” added Dhorde. Out of the 132 lakh litres of milk Maharashtra produces per day, only 1% are bought by the government, while 39% and 60% are handled by dairy cooperatives and the private sector respectively.

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