Demonetisation effect: Dairy farms across Maharashtra feeling the pinch

Popular Dairy Farm at Padgha PicSameer MarkandeThe demonetisation drive is starting to affect the animal kingdom too To be particular consider John Kokkat mdash proprietor of the Popular Dairy Farm in Bhiwandi district with cattle totalling 156 animals 10 cows and 146 buffaloes which provide 900 litres of milk per day collectively mdash who worries they may not survive the demonetisation Instead with no fodder to feed them they may soon just be dead meatAlso ReadMumbai food joints notice drop in customers incur lossIrfan Bhasir with the supplement feed neededKokkat is not sailing alone on that boat Other small and mediumrun dairy farms in villages like Padgha Khosimibi Bokri Dohole etc around Bhiwandi district are also feeling the pinch of the cash crunch as the fate of around 50000 cattle hangs in the balance Together they supply nearly 34 lakh litres and 10000 litres of buffalo and cow milk respectively to Mumbai Thane and BhiwandiWorkers at a farm sorting the feedThe feed conundrumMost farm owners ensure that the cattle are not given mere fodder but supplemented with special feed that consists of coconut and cotton cakes along with skin of pulses like tur moong corn sugarcane waste to ensure lsquotop qualityrsquo milkRead Story Demonetisation At KEM abusive civic staff make hay even as patients sufferSamarth Godown has a notice announcing that old currency will not be acceptedldquoWe have to milk the cattle twice a day and I donrsquot want to dilute it by mixing waterrdquo said Kokkat However he faces a doubleedged sword First he is worried that he doesnrsquot have enough legal tender to afford the special feed ldquoI have enough money to pay for the coconut cakes but it is in the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes I also have over Rs 7 lakh stuck in the market I need to pay my creditors and labourers but as I could not deposit cash two of my cheques to the feed supplier have already bounced and I had to plead for a few bags of feed No supplier can accept these defunct notesrdquo he saidSecondly since most regular customers pay on a bimonthly or monthly basis even the cash flow from that end has stopped ldquoWe have fixed customers and most of them are willing to clear their dues by paying us in the old currency which is of no use to merdquo added KokkatStock for two more daysNow despite government assurances that the situation will return to normal within a week with no sign of the woes abating most dairy units that still do have some feeding stock say it will only last two to three days more as each buffalo requires at least 5 kg feed daily along with the supplements ldquoThe feed we have at present will last only for two days And until we clear the last bill no trader will supply further stockrdquo said the dairy ownerTime constraintsOnce milked as itrsquos a perishable commodity it has to reach suppliers within a twohour window ldquoI have to clean the stables milk the animals and then get the supplies to the market I do not have the time to stand in these long queues to exchange moneyrdquo said another dairy owner Irfan Bhasir Theli of Bokri village who has 60 buffaloes and has not given them feed for last two daysAnother farmer from Titwala Nilesh Gharat who owns 12 buffalos and had to arrange for the new Rs 2000 currency to finally get feed said ldquoI had come to Padgha two days ago but had to return without the feed as I only had the old currency Without the feed we will lose both the cattle and our customers so I somehow had to arrange for the new denominationsrdquoHoarding concernsAdd to that growing concerns that hoarding in the midst of demonetisation could render acquiring feed for the cattle almost impossible ldquoWe appeal to the government to ensure that there should be no hoarding or hike in price of feed wherein a few traders might try to cash in by taking undue advantage of the situation Else small dairy units will be forced to shut downrdquo said KokkatFrom the traderrsquos end Sanjay Sonar 35 proprietor of Samarth Trading a supplier of cattle feed has pasted a notice board in his godown cum office in Padgha Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes are not accepted Speaking to midday Sonar said ldquoI have stock in my godown for next week and I can only place order for feed from the wholesalers provided I have cash in hand Two cheques worth Rs 90000 have already bounced few more cheques need to be deposited and I am not sure if those will clearrdquoWhen asked about the risk of hoarding Sanjay admitted that rich traders will stock all materials in their godown creating an artificial shortage of feed which is bound to shoot up the priceThe situation at Padgha weighing bridge was equally grim laden with over flowing hay from the trucks Kalpesh Nichite a trader fromSahapur said ldquoWe collect the hay from farmers at Rs 8 to Rs 15 per bundle and with the help of six daily workers Now the weighing bridge has stated they wonrsquot be taking the old currency so the traders and dairy owners are forced to keep bills pending It is a chain reaction and we all are sufferingrdquo