Silchar: The renovated milk processing plant at Gungoor here was inaugurated on Monday, formally marking the entry of Purabi Dairy into the Barak Valley.The facility was inaugurated by animal husbandry and veterinary minister Krishnendu Paul in the presence of Barak Valley development minister Kaushik Rai and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) executive director S Regupathi.The plant, earlier under the state’s animal husbandry and veterinary department, had remained defunct for years. Under the Assam Dairy Development Plan, it was handed over to North East Dairy and Foods Limited (NEDFL) — a joint venture of Assam govt and National Dairy Development Board — for renovation and operationalisation.Equipped with new machinery, the facility now has a processing capacity of 20,000 litres per day. The upgrade was completed in less than 10 months by IDMC Ltd., a wholly owned NDDB subsidiary. NEDFL invested Rs 10 crore in the project with financial backing from NDDB and the Centre’s Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund.With the commissioning, consumers in Silchar and adjoining areas will get standardised, hygienically packed fresh pouch milk under the Purabi brand. Officials said the move would bridge the long-standing gap in availability of quality fresh milk in the region, where dependence on loose milk and UHT variants has been high.Purabi Dairy will introduce ‘Purabi Plus’ milk in 250 ml and 500 ml pouches, priced at Rs 18 and Rs 35 respectively. The milk contains 4.5% fat and 8.5% solids-not-fat. Other products including sweet curd, plain curd, lassi, paneer, ghee, ice cream, flavoured milk and honey will also be marketed.Paul said the plant aligns with the state’s vision of building a self-reliant, farmer-centric dairy ecosystem, adding that Assam aims to scale up milk processing capacity to 10 lakh litres per day. Rai termed the launch a “historic moment” for Barak Valley.NDDB chairman Meenesh Shah said the facility would strengthen milk procurement through formation of a producer organisation, with support from NDDB Dairy Services under ASRLM and NRLM.Lok Sabha MP Parimal Suklabaidya, Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha, MLA Dipayan Chakraborty and Cachar deputy commissioner Ayush Garg were among those present.