Four from Assam honoured with national awards in livestock & dairy sector

Guwahati, Dec. 3: Three persons from Assam – two farmers, one artificial insemination (AI) technician, and a dairy cooperative - were awarded the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA), one of the highest national awards in the livestock and dairy sector.

Juna Tamuli Barman of Bajali and Junuma Mali of Morigaon won the Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/Buffalo Breeds under the Special NER Category, while, Md Abdur Rahim of Kamrup won the Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) Award under the Special NER Category.

Kamdhenu Dugdha Utpadak Samabay Samitee Ltd of Nityananda, Bajali, won the Best Dairy Cooperative Society Award under the Special NER Category.

The milk producers and the dairy co-operative societies are all affiliated with West Assam Milk Producers Cooperative Union Limited (WAMUL) – a cooperative better known by its brand name ‘Purabi’.

All four awards consist of a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh each, which is a Special Award for the North Eastern region, along with a certificate of merit and a memento. The winners were selected out of a total of 2,574 applications received.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, initiated the 'Rashtriya Gokul Mission', under the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development.

The awards were handed over by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in the presence of Professor SP Singh Baghel and George Kurian, Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, at a function in New Delhi as part of the National Milk Day celebrations on November 26.

- By Staff Reporter