Thiruvananthapuram: The shortage in supply of milk by the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF-Milma) since February has aggravated in the city in the past two weeks, with Milma imposing severe quota restrictions on its dealers.

Long queues and unruly scenes in front of milk booths have become a regular affair, as consumers are not able to purchase their requirements. Most of them are not able to buy more than one pack (500 ml) of milk.

The shortage is being felt across the State, but the situation is acute in the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha, where local procurement of milk has always been low and sales have soared. Milk supply was cut short by 15 per cent to 20 per cent by Milma in these districts in February.

Though the situation had eased slightly in between, the shortfall has gone from bad to worse now.

Milk-based products such as butter and ghee are also in short supply.

Milma officials say that the shortage in supply aggravated as Karnataka suddenly reduced the daily supply from two-lakh litres to 50,000 litres.

In the four southern districts alone, the shortage is over two-lakh litres daily.

Milma is now looking at Maharashtra or Gujarat for help for short-term measures to ease the shortage.

Arrangements have been made with the Warana dairy in Maharashtra for supplying over a lakh litres of milk on a regular basis till the procurement position improves, Baby Joseph, Managing Director of Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers' Union (TRCMPU), says.

The current shortage in milk will ease in the next two days once the supply from Warana is streamlined, he adds.

Unviable proposition

However, bringing milk from a dairy over 1200 km away on a daily basis is not a viable proposition, as it takes about 56 hours for tankers to reach Thiruvananthapuram. However, a few extra loads, even if it is only once or twice a week, should offer some interim relief to consumers, it is hoped.

Management of the lean and flush seasons is one of the key activities of Milma. However, this year, it failed to anticipate the acute shortage and no effort was taken to renew its annual supply contracts with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in time.

When Tamil Nadu stopped supplying milk in September, instead of trying to work out a new agreement, Milma relied solely on Karnataka to meet its supply requirement.

Milk procurement in the southern districts has been at an all-time low for the past three years, but the TRCMPU has not been making any effort at improving procurement, according to Milma sources.

Rather than encourage local production and procurement, it is more profitable for the union to procure milk at a much lower price from Karnataka, it is alleged.

The situation is likely to remain grim at least till May 15. Procurement may improve once the monsoon sets in, officials said.

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