GUWAHATI, Aug 21 - The West Assam Milk Producers� Cooperative Union Limited (WAMUL) is going to observe Purabi Milk Day tomorrow in the auditorium located on the premises of the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra at Panjabari.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will attend the function as the chief guest. Minister for Cooperation Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and Minister for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Atul Bora, will also be present.
The observation of the annual Milk Day, popularly known as Purabi Milk Day, comes in the wake of observance of Annual Milk Day every year by all the cooperative milk producers� unions in India, which aims to unite all the milk producers affiliated with these milk unions.
Purabi Dairy, at present, is procuring a daily average quantity of 32,650 litres of milk from 176 village-based functional milk producer institutions (MPIs) and six dairy cooperative societies in the districts of Kamrup, Morigaon, Nagaon, Barpeta and Nalbari, covering around 4,650 dairy farmers. The milk union has created a bulk milk cooling capacity of 11,000 litres for chilling of milk in the villages of Barpeta and Morigaon districts and will soon be installing another bulk milk cooler at a site in Nagaon district to be handed over by the Directorate of Dairy Development, Khanapara.
The milk union will felicitate woman dairy farmers on the occasion. Three of its best woman dairy farmers � Madhu Devi (Lumding), Radhika Chetri (Chandrapur) and Ayecha Bibi (Hajo) � will be awarded with cash prizes. Besides woman dairy farmers, the milk union will also felicitate two of its best performing village-based mobile AI technicians for their tireless services rendered at the doorsteps of the dairy farmers, a press release stated.
As a major part of the event, the union has declared an additional milk price amount of around Rs 1.50 crore to be distributed among the dairy farmers who supplied milk to the union during September 2015 to March 2016. The ceremonial distribution of additional milk price will be done by the Chief Minister to five farmers representing different areas.
At present, the milk union is selling a daily average quantity of over 50,000 litres of packed liquid milk and milk products in the markets of Guwahati and towns like Nalbari, Rangiya, Nagaon, Tezpur etc., including various defence establishments.
Besides packed liquid milk, the union also sells milk products like paneer, sweet curd, plain curd, cream, flavoured milk and ghee that have gained popularity among the consumers in the market.
The milk union here is popularly known as Purabi Dairy and it was registered in 1976-77 under Operation Flood II.