Silchar, Mar 02: In a landmark development for southern Assam, the renovated dairy processing plant at Gungoor, Silchar, was formally inaugurated today by Shri Krishnendu Paul, Minister, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Govt of Assam, marking the official entry of organized cooperative dairying into the Barak Valley region. Shri Kaushik Rai, Minister, Barak Valley Development and S. Regupathi, Executive Director, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), graced the occasion as Guests of Honour. The programme was also attended by Lok Sabha MP Parimal Suklabaidya, Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha, MLA Dipayan Chakraborty, Ayush Garg, DC, Cachar and dignitaries from the region.
The dairy plant, originally belonging to the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department (AHVD), had remained defunct for several years. It was handed over by the Government of Assam under the Assam Dairy Development Plan to North East Dairy and Foods Limited (NEDFL) – a joint venture of the Government of Assam and NDDB – for its renovation/ reconstruction and operationalisation. The dairy plant has been renovated and upgraded with new machineries to a processing capacity of 20,000 litres per day.
The entire work was completed in less than 10 months by IDMC Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of NDDB. Without NDDB’s support it would be nearly impossible to setup this high-quality facility in this region.
With its commissioning, consumers in Silchar and surrounding areas will now have access to standardized, hygienically packed fresh pouch milk under the Purabi brand – addressing a longstanding gap in the availability of quality fresh milk in Barak Valley.
Purabi Dairy will introduce its standard milk under brand name ‘Purabi Plus’ available in 250ml and 500ml pouch packs. The milk contains 4.5% fat and 8.5% SNF (Solids-Not-Fat), ensuring superior nutritional value and consistent quality. The 250ml pouch is priced at Rs 18, while the 500ml pouch is being made available at Rs 35. Milk products such as sweet curd, plain curd, lassi, paneer, ghee, ice cream, flavoured milk, honey etc will be available along with pouch milk.
“The inauguration of the Silchar dairy processing plant is a landmark step in fulfilling Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma’s vision of building a self-reliant and farmer-centric dairy ecosystem in Assam. Our goal of achieving 10 lakh litres of milk processing per day across the state requires balanced regional expansion, and today the Barak Valley formally becomes part of that growth journey. It will ensure access to hygienically processed, standardized milk for consumers while creating assured procurement channels and stable income opportunities for local dairy farmers. The Government of Assam remains committed to expanding dairy infrastructure, strengthening farmer institutions and ensuring nutritional security for every household,” said Shri Krishnendu Paul, Hon’ble Minister, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, addressing a large gathering of dairy farmers, MLAs, officials and the media.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kaushik Rai stated,
“The inauguration of the Purabi Dairy plant at Gunghoor, Silchar signifies a historic moment for the Barak Valley, which, despite its dairy potential, had remained outside the ambit of formal cooperative dairy infrastructure till now. With the commissioning of this plant, Purabi Dairy has formally commenced operations in the region, ushering in a structured and quality-assured dairy ecosystem for both consumers and farmers of Barak Valley.
In his address, NDDB Chairman Dr Meenesh Shah said:
“The starting of this processing facility at Silchar paves the way for setting up a producer organization to strengthen milk procurement systems in Barak Valley to benefit dairy farmers in the region. NDDB Dairy Services (NDS) is supporting and handholding the local farmers and will assist in setting up a producer organization under ASRLM/ NRLM (Assam State / National Rural Livelihood mission) to setup milk procurement systems in the Barak Valley, thereby creating sustainable livelihood opportunities and strengthening the rural dairy economy. He highlighted “NDDB is invested both technically and financially for the dairy development in Assam. NEDFL have invested Rs 10 Crores for the renovation and operationalisation of this plant, with financial support from NDDB and AHIDF (Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, Govt of India). NDDB also provided the initial capital of Rs 2 Crores for starting of the procurement activities by NDDB Dairy Services (NDS)”.
Till now, consumers in Silchar and nearby areas largely depended on loose milk or UHT milk. The introduction of standardized fresh pouch milk will provide a reliable and quality-assured alternative. Consumers are advised that pouch milk requires continuous refrigeration to maintain freshness.