Fresh milk to Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres in Sikkim

The Sikkim Milk Union Limited and the state social welfare department have signed an agreement to supply fresh milk to Integrated Child Development Services centres in the East, West and South districts on a regular basis.

Earlier, the ICDS centres in the state would procure milk locally and the supply would often be irregular.

Last month, an agreement was signed between the social welfare department and the Sikkim Milk Union and the distribution of milk started in the last week of April.

"As the agreement came into force, the number of ICDS centres getting milk supply from the Milk Union is on the rise. Now, approximately 330l of loose milk and 475l of packaged milk - a total of more than 800l - is being supplied to more than 325 ICDS centres here every day," the managing director of Sikkim Milk Union Limited, Kapil Meena, said yesterday.

The numbers are expected to rise in the coming few months.

There are around 1,200 ICDS centres in the state and the union, which doesn't have a unit in the North district, is supplying milk to the centres in the East, West and South districts.

According to sources, the social welfare department that runs the ICDS centres would pay around Rs 1.9 lakh to the union annually.

Sabitri Chettri, the mother of a four-year-old child who goes to an ICDS centre in Syari area in East district, said: "Earlier, the children did not get milk everyday because of irregular supply in the centres. We mothers are very happy now." (TT)