Devastating Tauktae pushes Amreli’s milk production down by 30%

Rajkot: Already reeling under the destruction caused by cyclone Tauktae, the cattle breeders of Amreli district are now witnessing a 30% reduction in milk yield from milch animals.
Breeders opine that the primary cause behind the reduced yield is the state of shock that the animals are in since witnessing the devastating cyclone. Lack of proper drinking water and fodder in the aftermath of cyclone has also resulted in reduction in milk production.
“The animals don’t give milk when they are in stress or shock. The animals often stop giving milk when they see one from their herd being hunted by wild animals like lions or leopards. After the cyclone the animals are in shock and that has resulted in reduction in yield,” Haresh Khuman, a cattle breeder from Mevasa village of Savarkundla taluka, said.
Normally, one buffalo gives 12 to 15 litres of milk in a day but according to cattle breeders now some buffaloes are yielding just two litres of milk while few others aren’t allowing milking. The cattle owners trying to bring the buffaloes out of shock are bathing them five-six times a day. “We are pampering them like children,” Manu Dhakhda , a farmer leader from Vadli village, said.
The cattle breeders of Khambha, Rajula and Jafrabad talukas which were most affected during the cyclone are facing this problem.
According to cattle breeders some of the animals were tethered on the night the cyclone hit Gujarat so they were not able to escape its fury which added to their shock. “The animals are not giving milk. For the first time in our life we are forced to buy pasteurised milk bags for our consumption,” Jasu Mobh, a cattle owner from Khambha area said.
The milk production generally goes down during the summer. The cattle breeders sell the milk to local hotel owners and to their retail customers. The excess milk is sold to Amreli district milk producers union popularly known as Amar dairy. This dairy is also part of GCMMF which markets the brand Amul. This dairy collects the milk from the cattle breeders of Amreli and Gir Somnath district.
“Before the cyclone we used to get 1.60 lakh litres of milk per day which was reduced to 70,000 litres soon after the cyclone because the collection centres had collapsed and roads were blocked. The milk collection now is 1.20 lakh litres per day,” Ashwin Savaliya, chairman of Amar dairy, said.