By Bureau Correspondent | Tripura 24.in
AGARTALA | May 31, 2026
AGARTALA: Highlighting the critical role of veterinary sciences in transforming the rural economy and expanding dairy production, the Tripura Veterinary Doctors’ Association (TVDA) hosted its high-profile 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday. The grand institutional assembly was organized at a prominent private hotel in the heart of Agartala city.
The annual convention was inaugurated by Animal Resources Development (ARD) Minister Sudhangshu Das, who attended the technical session as the Chief Guest. The executive panel on the dais included Deepa D. Nair, IAS, Secretary of the ARD Department, and Dr. Neeraj Kumar Chanchal, Director of the ARD Directorate, alongside Dr. Sujit Saha, General Secretary of the Tripura Veterinary Doctors’ Association, and several senior veterinary surgeons and livestock experts from across the state.
The formal proceedings of the 56th general assembly were presided over by TVDA State President Dr. Priyabrata Nath. Notably, before diving into the core administrative agenda, Minister Sudhangshu Das, along with the visiting dignitaries and hundreds of assembled veterinary doctors, tuned in to a special live broadcast screening of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 134th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio address inside the convention hall.
Modernizing Livestock Healthcare and Rural Wealth Networks
The annual assembly served as a vital forum to assess the department’s institutional milestones, discuss vector-borne disease control grids, and outline the technical framework required to make Tripura self-sufficient in meat, egg, and milk production.
Key Structural Focus Areas Addressed by the Association:
- Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs): Evaluating the field deployment of GPS-tracked emergency veterinary vans to provide on-spot surgical and clinical treatment in remote tribal hamlets.
- Zoonotic Disease Surveillance: Setting up advanced diagnostic screening cells at block levels to rapidly detect and contain potential bird flu (Avian Influenza) or swine fever outbreaks.
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Modernizing sub-divisional veterinary hospitals with state-of-the-art cold-chain storage facilities for vaccines and advanced artificial insemination kits.
“Veterinary Doctors Are the Backbone of Our Rural Economy”: Minister Sudhangshu Das
Delivering his keynote address after the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, ARD Minister Sudhangshu Das highly praised the dedication of the state’s veterinary fraternity and urged them to treat their profession as a vital public service rather than a routine job.
”Our state’s farmers and rural households depend heavily on livestock farming for their daily sustenance and financial security. When a cow or a goat falls sick in a remote village, it is not just an animal that is suffering—the entire economic stability of that family is put at risk. Therefore, our veterinary doctors are truly the unsung backbone of Tripura’s rural economy.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, our government has significantly increased budgetary allocations for the ARD department. We are actively working to upgrade the service conditions, promotional avenues, and field infrastructure for our doctors. In return, I expect absolute dedication from the TVDA members. Our doctors must step out of urban clinics and ensure that the benefits of central and state livestock schemes reach the poorest farmers in the interior subdivisions without delay,” Animal Resources Development Minister Sudhangshu Das declared to the gathering.
Administrative Integration to Eliminate Livestock Plagues
Speaking at the event, ARD Secretary Deepa D. Nair and Director Dr. Neeraj Kumar Chanchal emphasized that closer integration between administrative executives and field veterinarians is crucial to maintaining strict biosecurity standards across the state’s borders.
They noted that the department is rolling out advanced training modules to equip state veterinarians with modern digital record-keeping tools, which will help streamline the tracking of livestock health certificates and subsidy distributions.
The day-long convention concluded with General Secretary Dr. Sujit Saha presenting the association’s annual performance budget, followed by an interactive technical seminar where young veterinary researchers discussed innovative breeding practices tailored to Tripura’s unique climatic conditions.
