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Motorbike rally of 50 bikers to mark National Milk Day culminates in Anand
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Thursday, 28 November, 2019, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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As India celebrated National Milk Day on Tuesday, a group of 50 youngsters on motorbikes reached their final destination Anand. This completed their 12-day bike rally covering 2,500 km that was started from Varanasi. Their purpose was to meet people and visit places created and inspired by Dr Verghese Kurien.
Every year on November 26, India celebrates the birth anniversary of Dr Kurien, father of white revolution in India, as National Milk Day. This year, GCMMF Ltd, which markets the brand ‘Amul,’ had organised the third edition of its mega motorbike rally to commemorate Dr Kurien’s 98th birth anniversary. The rally which was flagged off from Varanasi on November 15 reached its grand finale in the milk city of Anand, which is also the karmabhoomi of Dr Kurien.
The last leg of the rally was flagged off from Amul Dairy of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd – the first district milk producers’ union by Ramsinh Parmar, chairman, GCMMF, and Kaira DCMPU. The rally reached the campus of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), where the young bikers along with the dignitaries were given a grand red-carpet welcome amidst the resounding music of trumpets and drumrolls. About thousand children from Anandalaya School were also present.
Dilip Rath, Chairman, NDDB, eulogised Dr Kurien and the legacy he has left behind; he stressed on our responsibility to take his work to every corner of the country and bowed down his head as a mark of respect to The Milkman of India. He invoked the youth of today to pledge to work tirelessly, inspired by ideals of Dr Kurien. He also reminisced the contribution made by Dr Kurien to strengthen the economic status of millions of farmers and milk producers of India, thus making the country self-sufficient in milk; in making Amul, the real power house representing the strength of smallest of farmers in Gujarat, and thus the Anand pattern across the country.
Dr R S Sodhi, MD, GCMMF Ltd, appreciated the mega motorbike rally as a great way of celebrating National Milk Day as it has done the job of “connecting all the institutions, the legendary Dr Kurien has built. He reiterated how Dr Kurien was very particular about time management and his values that the generation of today can learn from. He remembered the era when youth were so inspired by the revolution brought by Dr Kurien of rural development, that they dreamt of walking in his footsteps by joining IRMA – the institute set up by Dr Kurien with an aim to give more Kuriens to society.
Parmar eulogised Dr Kurien for choosing to live with the dairy farmers whom he had considered as his own, and thus ensuring that ‘my farmer’ attained more and more prosperity. He also reminisced how he had been in touch with Dr Kurien for 30 years of his life and how it built his faith in the power of cooperatives.
The young bikers too shared their heartfelt experiences and expressed how all the grand welcomes; respect and garlanding they had received were not for them but for one individual who is Dr Kurien. All the bikers were then felicitated by the dignitaries.
This 12-day motorbike rally spanning over 2,800 km saw participation of a team of professional riders, including six women riders, who have been part of previous editions of National Milk Day rally 1.0 and 2.0. They were given the responsibility of mentoring the new riders who joined this year from across India. The 50 riders represented 20 out of 28 states of India and were working in the dairy industry and volunteered to participate. Throughout their journey, the bikers met people and visited institutions created and inspired by Dr Kurien. In a style that would attract the Indian youth, ‘#CelebratingDrKurien’ will explore the life and work of the man who turned India from a milk-deficient nation to one of the largest producers of milk in the world.
Heads of various institutions in Anand created by Dr Kurien were also present on thr occasion. They included K M Jhala (COO, GCMMF Ltd); A M Vyas (MD, Kaira DCMPU); Keerti Supekar (MD, NCDFI); Arun Raste (Executive Director, NDDB); Hitesh Bhatt (Director, IRMA); Dr RV Vyas (Vice-Chancellor, AAU); Dr J B Prajapati (chairman, Vidya Dairy, and Dean, Dairy Science College); D R Shah (MD, Vidya Dairy); Dr Nikhil Kharod (CEO, Tribhuvandas Foundation); Tejas Kumar Desai (vice-principal, Anandalaya School); Rajesh Subramaniam (MD, IDMC); and Dinesh Reddy (programme director, FES). Dr Amol Pavangadkar from Michigan State University, USA – who is the director of movie on Dr Kurien specially attended the programme.
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