Guwahati; March 8, 2022: Assam’s largest dairy cooperative, West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Limited (WAMUL), popularly known as Purabi Dairy, celebrated International Women’s Day at its plant and office in Guwahati on March 8 in the presence of some of its women employees and women milk producers.
This year, Women’s Day celebration at WAMUL emphasised on the “Power of W- Women of WAMUL”. The main objective of the Women’s Day programme, organised by Purabi Dairy, was to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of the women associated with WAMUL, who has come forward to #BreakTheBias, which is the theme of International Women’s Day 2022. It also provided a platform for exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences between the dairy farmers. The event also provided an exposure visit for the visitors to Purabi Dairy’s Milk Processing Plant.
The women dairy farmers were given an opportunity to interact with the Chief Guests of the day- Runa Rafique – Livestock Entrepreneur (Piggery and Poultry), and Dr. Nilakshi Phukan Kumar, M.D. (O&G), Director at Gynaec Centre, Guwahati, who are not only living examples of self-made successful women but have also inspired many others to achieve their dreams.
The programme began with welcoming and felicitation of both Chief Guests. Runa Rafique is associated with Women Poultry Farming and building clusters. She is currently leading two brands named Dhuwasang and Saraighat. On the other hand, Dr. Nilakshi Phukan Kumar has an experience of 25+ years and is currently practicing in Down Town Hospital, Guwahati. Since women’s health and well-being is one of the main concerns in today’s fast paced life, Dr. Kumar addressed these concerns on Gynaecological issues of women.
Speaking at the event, Satya Brata Bose, Managing Director, WAMUL, said, “Today, we feel proud to celebrate the power of women at WAMUL. Women play a crucial role across all the operations of the brand. Right from dairy farmers to various departments at WAMUL, be it Procurement & Inputs, Human Resources, Purchase, Training & Development, Marketing, Veterinary Executive or the Liquid Milk Processing Plant, women have made their contributions felt in every aspect that makes WAMUL the biggest milk cooperative of the region.” It is worth mentioning, out of more than 16,000 dairy farmers associated with WAMUL, a staggering 6800 are women dairy farmers, which is more than 40% of the dairy farmers. Also, out of 28 female employees at WAMUL, 18 of them are in leadership roles in various disciplines.
The women farmers and WAMUL officials at the day’s celebration spoke of their experiences while working with the brand and shared how WAMUL has created newer avenues and uplifted their lives to help maintain a better livelihood. Speaking about her experience of being associated with WAMUL, Nayanmoni Bharali, Member of Udali Bamungaon Dughda Utpadak Samabay Samiti, Hojai, said, “I have always wanted to be financially independent, but I also wanted to be able to manage my household alongside my work. So, with my husband’s encouragement, I started an animal farm in 2016 with one cow. I earned the knowledge and skills to help improve milk production through different training programmes organized by Purabi Dairy. Today, we have 12 milk producing cows which yield 80-85 litres of milk daily. I am thankful to Purabi Dairy for providing a market to sell our farm’s produce, which gives us an annual turnover of around Rs. 10 lakhs. I feel proud as an independent educated woman and as a dairy farmer today.”
Another milk farmer, Pranita Dutta, President of Anantagiri Mahila DCS, Nalbari, said, “Since the time I associated with Purabi Dairy, I have been able to take care of not just my own expenses but those of my children as well. This ability has given me a great boost of confidence. But this would not have been possible without proper education. So, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, I would like to emphasize on the need to educate every female member of the family so that they can build a strong foundation for themselves and be financially independent in the future.”
