Agartala, May 17 (IANS) Northeast region’s largest dairy unit was jointly inaugurated in Tripura on Saturday by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh.

The Tripura Chief Minister and Union Minister jointly inaugurated the 40,000 tonne per day producing capacity milk processing unit at Bamutia in West Tripura district. It is the largest dairy in the northeastern region, comprising eight states.

Tripura Chief Minister, while addressing the inaugural function, said that the second unit of the Gomati Dairy has been set up on 3.57 acres of land and a cost of approximately Rs 22.01 crore.

He said that of Rs 22.01 crore, Rs 19.41 crore was provided by the Centre, and the state government has provided Rs 2.60 crore. The Gomati Dairy, sponsored by the Tripura government, comprises 178 cooperative societies, and over 5,000 dairy farmers are poised to unlock new opportunities for the state’s rural economy.

Saha said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have stressed to give the cooperative sectors to boost the rural economy as well as the livelihood of the people, especially the rural masses.

“In Tripura, over nine lakh people, including a large number of women, are associated with cooperative sectors. Women are also in huge numbers associated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) and earning their livelihoods,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that Tripura currently has 53,623 SHGs under the Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission, and 4.84 lakh rural women are associated with these SHGs, while under the Tripura Urban Livelihood Mission, around 5,941 SHGs were formed involving 63,743 women living in the urban areas.

He added that Rs 746.80 crore were given as financial assistance (revolving fund) to these SHG members to produce various items and to do business in numerous sectors.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aspiration, the Chief Minister said that the Tripura government has given utmost priority to transparency in governance, employment, service delivery to people and all other areas of administration.

The Chief Minister said that among the SHGs members, 91,871 women emerged as ‘Lakhpati Didis’ through their engagement in various enterprising units.

He also announced that the government has set a target of making the state self-sufficient in the production of fish, meat, milk, and eggs within the next five years.

“The Animal Resources Department team is working on this. Along with agriculture and horticultural crop production, the government has given special importance to animal resources. All-round development of animal husbandry in rural areas has been given importance,” said the Chief Minister.

Besides the Chief Minister, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, S. P. Singh Baghel, Tripura’s Animal Resource Development Department Minister Sudhangshu Das, among others, spoke at the function.

–IANS

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