Bokakhat, July 19: Bokakhat without its peda is like Calcutta without its rosogolla.

But for nearly a week now, the restaurants in this small township along the National Highway 37 have not made their famous pedas, much to the disappointment of travellers stopping by to have a bite and pick up a packet of the delicious sweetmeat.

Blame this rare peda drought in Bokakhat on the floods.

The shelves of each of the 20-odd shops that hug the highway wear an empty look because milk supplies have dried up with floods inundating the chaporis (sandbanks) where the dairies are located. One of the joint owners of Gopal Krishna Restaurant, which has been in the business of making pedas for no less than 59 years, said customers had never before returned empty-handed from his shop. “Our business has taken a beating. We are losing customers. Almost every traveller who stops at Bokakhat asks for pedas to carry home and we can’t offer them any. Most leave without buying any of the other sweets we sell,” Gopal, who manages the restaurant with his brother Krishna, said.

Bokakhat’s source of milk is Saraguri Chapori, which has been cut off from the mainland. It is estimated that the restaurants are losing nearly Rs 1 lakh worth of business daily because of the milk crisis.

Mewa, a by-product of milk, is the primary ingredient of the peda. The sweetmeat has its origin in Rajasthan. Bokakhat became famous for its pedas after some traders from that state settled here because good-quality milk was cheap and easily available in these parts.

“We chose Bokakhat because it is on the highway that links Upper and Lower Assam, and most travellers stop by for refreshments,” Gopal said.

Gopal Krishna Restaurant requires about 50 kg of mewa everyday. “Since it is difficult to carry the milk from Saraguri Chapori to the town, we have employees there to make the mewa and bring it here,” the co-owner said.

Such is the popularity of the Bokakhat peda that sub-divisional officer D.K. Nath has proposed two outlets elsewhere, one in Guwahati and the other in Jorhat. “We are working on such a plan. If it works out, the famous Bokakhat peda will become even more popular,” he said.

A peda and puri outlet had been set up during the recent Elephant Festival at the nearby Kaziranga National Park. Bokakhat is on the eastern fringe of the wildlife sanctuary.