Nagaon, May 20: An Assam-based cooperative society, which played Good Samaritan during the Sino-Indian war of 1962, has come up with its own dairy brand.
The 57-year-old Sitajakhala, which claims to be the oldest milk cooperative society in the state, had provided milk and dairy items to Indian soldiers fighting China in the 1962 war. Now, the society plans to foray into the Northeast and reach out to customers across the region through the Gonand brand from August.
Apart from milk, the society based at Amlighat in Morigaon district, will sell among other dairy products, ghee, paneer, curd and cream. Milk products produced by the society have earned a name for taste and quality over the decades.
Amlighat, located near the Karbi Anglong border under Jagiroad police station, is around 55km from Guwahati.
"For many households, Bihu would be incomplete if Sitajakhala products do not reach the kitchen. The new initiative is our answer to the goodwill shown by people over decades. People who come to Guwahati from Upper Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland invariably drop by the society office to collect the product," said the society's chairman, Ranjib Sharma.
Sitajakhala has as many as 700 registered households that provide milk and its daily production is above 12,000 litres.
The Morigaon district administration had recently provided Rs 45-lakh infrastructure support to the society for quality management.
Deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar said all possible steps have been taken by the district administration to ensure quality management of the products so that items could be more attractive for outsiders.
"We have asked the society to go for both quality and quantity. People have faith in the products of Sitajakhala and that has to be ensured in case packaged items are sent to the outside districts," Kumar told The Telegraph.
Sitajakhala's products, locally packaged during the sixties without a brand name, were popular among the soldiers in the 1962 war.
"Milk, cream and curd were supplied through Sonitpur to the army camps during that time. Supply was stopped soon after the war ended. The supply of dairy products was the outcome of a missionary zeal of the society workers," Sharma said.
The Morigaon-Karbi Anglong border, where thousands of households engage in milk production and maize cultivation, is one of the most backward areas of the state.
"The border area has a big scope for milk production. Unfortunately, neither the government nor the local autonomous council takes the matter seriously. Products in the milk belt would be doubled if initiatives are taken to assist the farmers here," said Ram Bahadur Chetry, an Amsoi milkman.