Illustration by Debashis Deb

Bokakhat, Sept. 8: Come rain or shine, a proposed dairy project intends to keep the unique Bokakhat peda — not quite patented but a must-buy item for travellers who pass by this nondescript township — up for sale the year round.

Given the ever increasing demand for milk — a major ingredient in the sweet — in Bokakhat, the state development department has decided to set up milk villages in and around the town on National Highway 37 in Golaghat district.

Bokakhat is synonymous with pedas just as Calcutta is with its rosogolla and a stop to pick up the sweet from the 20-odd shops dotting National Highway 37, linking lower with Upper Assam, has almost become a tradition among commuters.

However, shortage of milk, especially during floods, robs Bokakhat shops of this ubiquitous sweet.

The main source of milk supply to these shops is the Saraiguri chapori (sandbar) and other sandbars in the vicinity.

When rains inundate the sandbars, milk supply to the shops dries up, affecting the peda business.

Dairy development officer Nilim Bora said the state government had sanctioned Rs 3 crore for the dairy project and this would hopefully end the milk drought in Bokakhat by next year.

The funds have been sanctioned under the chief minister’s employment generation scheme.

Nearly 250 unemployed youths of the area will be selected and divided into groups of two. Each group will be given two cows each and will have to supply milk for the express purpose of making pedas.

Bora said there were also plans to teach these unemployed youths the art of making pedas, for which Bokakhat is famous.

“Bokakhat already has a milk production plant with a capacity of 2,000 litres a day but the milk is distributed among three districts of Jorhat, Golaghat and Sivasagar,” he said.

He said the daily milk requirement in Bokakhat town alone is about 2,000 litres.

An employee of Maharaj, one of the famous peda joints, said for the last several years, customers have been returning empty handed, especially during the monsoons when floods play spoilsport.

“Not only do pedas become scarce but the milk shortfall results in rising cost of the sweets, which is also proving to be a deterrent for buyers,” he said.

Peda gained popularity in Assam when traders from Rajasthan — from where the sweet originates — settled in Bokakhat before Independence and set up sweet shops.

Owner of Balaji, another famous peda joint here, said they were facing huge losses as the customers refuse to enter the shop even to buy puri once they were told that the much sought-after pedas were not on offer.

Bokakhat is also famous for its puri and aloo sabji — a snack travellers pick up on the route, especially while visiting Kaziranga National Park, 25km away.