Mid-Day

Mumbai, May 25: To meet a long-standing demand of dairy farmers, a sub-committee appointed by the state cabinet will meet today to decide the increase in milk prices.

The farmers are demanding that they be paid Rs 1.25 per litre and 75 paise extra for the increasing petrol and diesel costs.

“Today we will be meeting dairy owners to discuss their demands for an increase in charges.

Within a week, the rate should become applicable if the state decides to give in to their demands,” informed Dhanraj Kamatkar, managing director of Mahananda Dairy who is also on the panel. 

Dairy Minister Anees Ahmed, chairman of the sub-committee, said he would present the farmers’ demands to the cabinet today and milk prices would increase by first week of June.

“Today a dairy farmer gets less than Rs 7 per litre which is cheaper than water. A spate of suicides has prompted us to look into their demands as milk prices have not been increased since the past four years,” Ahmed said.