Mumbaikars began to feel the pinch of the truckers’ flash strike against the new penal law on hit-and-run road mishaps on Tuesday, as large sections of them went without milk after thousands of trucks carrying chilled milk failed to reach the metropolis from different parts of Maharashtra and neighbouring states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

As the strike entered the second day, lakhs of Mumbaikars had to make do without their morning cup of coffee, while children went without their daily share of milk after the retailers either failed to deliver the creamy milk or delivered it long after 10 am.    

Mumbai receives chilled milk supplies in insulated tankers from districts like Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Nashik in Maharashtra, Indore and, Dewas from Madhya Pradesh and Anand, Banaskantha, Surat and Mehsana from Gujarat.

Mumbai receives around 50 to 60 lakh litres of chilled milk per day, of which 60 percent is cow milk and the rest is buffalo milk.“The milk distribution in Mumbai was affected today as thousands of Mumbai-bound trucks are  either stranded midway or have not picked up the milk consignment for the point of origin ,” Chandan Hausilasingh Singh of the Mumbai Milk Producers Association (MMPA) said.

Apart from chilled milk, Mumbaikars consume another 4 lakh litres of fresh buffalo milk, which is more expensive and creamier.  Most people prefer cow milk t0 buffalo milk because it is cheaper.

According to Chandan Singh, each of the insulated milk-tankers has a capacity of transporting 20 tonnes of milk to its destinations, from where it is unloaded into mini-tankers with a capacity of two-three tonnes for distribution to the last mile retailer.