Shimla goes without milk, dairy products

Supply of milk and dairy products to this Himachal Pradesh hill station was hit on Saturday following curfew and prohibitory orders in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana a day after widespread violence broke out over Dera sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction in a rape case.

"No packaged milk and dairy products coming from Punjab was supplied to any shop, hotel or commercial establishment," a milk supplier based here told IANS.

He said the daily supply of bread was also hit as majority of it also came from Punjab.

Reports said there was no supply of milk and dairy products in Solan, Baddi, Parwanoo, Kasauli and Chail towns as well.

Shimla's daily consumption of milk is around 50,000 litres, most of which is supplied by Punjab's milk cooperative Milkfed. The cooperative also supplies milk and dairy products like butter, ghee, cottage cheese and curd under the brand name Verka.

Shimla has a population of more than 200,000 people. According to tourism industry representatives, it receives around 50,000 tourists every weekend.

--IANS

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