World Milk Day Celebrated in Namkhana and Basanti with Student Awareness Programmes
Virbac India and Netaji Seva Foundation Promote Nutrition, Scientific Dairy Farming and Rural Livelihoods

DR SOUMITRA PANDIT,
IPU NEWS | South 24 Parganas, West Bengal | Date-1st August,2026
To mark World Milk Day, two awareness programmes focusing on milk nutrition, scientific dairy farming and sustainable rural livelihoods were organized in Namkhana and Basanti blocks of South 24 Parganas district. The programmes were jointly organized by Virbac India Animal Health Care Pvt. Ltd. in collaboration with the Netaji Seva Foundation.
More than 50 Class X students participated in the programme held at Patibunia Upendra Vidyapith, Namkhana, while over 55 students of Classes XI and XII attended the event at Sonakhali Higher Secondary School, Basanti.
The keynote speaker at both programmes was Dr. Santanu Bera, Professor at the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences and Secretary of the Netaji Seva Foundation. Addressing the students, Dr. Bera highlighted the importance of milk as a complete and nutritious food and emphasized that scientific dairy farming can significantly contribute to rural livelihoods, employment generation and women's empowerment.
At Namkhana, the welcome address was delivered by the Headmaster, Mr. Anindya Kumar Mondal, while at Basanti, Mr. Deb Ranjan Ghosh, Regional Business Manager of Virbac India, welcomed the participants. He informed the gathering that Virbac India is conducting World Milk Day awareness programmes across different districts of West Bengal to educate students on dairy nutrition and animal health.
The Basanti programme was attended by Dr. Dipak Pramanik, Block Livestock Development Officer (BLDO), who delivered an informative session on Clean Milk Production, animal health and scientific dairy management. The Headmaster of Sonakhali Higher Secondary School, Mr. Jagneswar Pal, appreciated the initiative and described it as highly educational and beneficial for students.
Representing Virbac India were Mr. Swarup Maity, Area Business Manager, Mr. Shovan Guchhait, Business Executive, and Mr. Rahul Debnath, Business Executive. The Netaji Seva Foundation was represented by Mr. Ranjit Mondal at Namkhana and Mr. Prasenjit Barman, In-charge of the Basanti Unit.
The Namkhana programme commenced with a cultural dance performance by Rupsa Bera. During both events, Mr. Shovan Guchhait delivered a PowerPoint presentation explaining India's progress in milk production, the nutritional value of milk and scientific approaches to dairy farming.
Interactive spot quizzes on dairy and nutrition were conducted at the end of the programmes. A total of 20 students from both schools were awarded prizes for their outstanding performance. All participants received milk chocolates and pens, while the prize winners were also provided with calcium feed supplements for their family-owned livestock.
Following the Basanti programme, Dr. Dipak Pramanik, Dr. Santanu Bera and representatives of Virbac India visited the Basanti Unit of the Netaji Seva Foundation and inspected a private partnership dairy farm developed with the Foundation's technical support.
The World Milk Day programmes successfully promoted awareness among students about the nutritional importance of milk, scientific dairy farming, clean milk production and the role of livestock in building a sustainable and self-reliant rural economy.