Sabarkantha, July 16 : A protest over milk price discrepancies has erupted into chaos in Gujarat's Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts, as cattle breeders clashed with police outside Sabar Dairy.

The agitation, now in its third consecutive day, intensified after one farmer died during the unrest, and FIRs were filed against 74 leaders, including former MLA Jashu Patel, and over 1,000 unidentified protesters.

The unrest stems from allegations of unfair profit distribution by Sabar Dairy. Last year, the dairy disbursed Rs 602 crore at 17 per cent profit to members across 14 talukas. However, this year's payout was sharply reduced to Rs 350 crore at just 9.75 per cent, citing a pending audit. The Rs 252 crore gap has triggered widespread discontent among thousands of cooperative members.

On Sunday, the protest spiralled out of control as thousands of dairy members and cattle farmers stormed Sabar Dairy's premises.

Violent clashes broke out, with heavy stone-pelting met by police firing tear gas shells.

Since then, cattle breeders from villages including Medhasan, Khambhisar, Hafsabad, Shinawad, Butal, Kolvada, Navagam, and Akrund in Aravalli have refused to supply milk to local mandalis, and instead pour it onto the roads in protest.

In an emotionally charged act of defiance, protestors in several villages symbolically performed the last rites of Sabar Dairy's chairman and directors by burning effigies and displaying posters.

With nearly 1,800 milk societies participating in the boycott, the crisis shows no signs of slowing. Anger continues to mount over both the police response and the Sabar Dairy management's silence.

Sabarkantha district, comprising some 1,389 villages and home to approximately 2.5 million people, ranks as Gujarat's second-largest milk-producing region, yielding around 9,58,000 tonnes of milk during 2022'23.

Dairy farming stands as the country's second major economic activity after agriculture, with over 70 per cent of rural families engaged in livestock rearing, particularly smallholder farmers maintaining two to five animals each.

A focused survey in select talukas (Himatnagar, Prantij, Idar) covering 150 dairy farmers highlighted common challenges such as high-interest loans and inadequate housing (over 25 per cent), and concerns over feed costs and lack of balanced ration knowledge.

Prominent buffalo breeds like the Surti, prevalent locally, provide an average of 1,600'1,800'litres per lactation, complementing the district's dairy output.

Overall, Sabarkantha's rural landscape is deeply intertwined with dairy: small-scale cattle breeders form a collective that underpins both local livelihoods and the operation of Sabar Dairy's extensive cooperative framework.

/IANS