COW SAFARI AS AN INNOVATIVE MODEL TO MAKE GAUSHALA’S SELF SUSTAINABLE
At present, India is constantly trying to figure out the self-sufficient Gaushalas – from a technical, financial and social sustainability perspective. Although a number of Gaushala are flourishing across the country to tackle the problem of stray cattle , their sustainability remains an issue to be considered. Particularly, Gaushalas, which may consist of un productive cattle,milking and non-milking cattle, requires large amounts of cattle feed, meal supplements, sometimes antibiotic drugs and other inputs. The Gaushalas in India has grown massively in the last few decades to solve the menace of stray cattle in view of animal welfare . After witnessing steady success in animal welfare issues , Gaushala is now facing several challenges with respect to its viability.
A chronic shortage of cattle feed coupled with the poor quality of fodder has become the major constraint. The current system of mechanized agriculture crop harvesting has resulted in deficit of fodder used to feed for cattle & un expected rise in the cost of feed & fodder.So, to decrease the financial burden and to make the Gaushala self sustainable, the Cow safari concept is the most viable and sustainable option available with us which not only make the Gaushala self sustainable but also generate employment to the locals.There must be some basic amenities & infrastructure in the Gaushala which will fullfill the basic need of common visitors.
Tourists visiting the Gaushala will be able to spend time with the cows, massage them, take care of them, and even adopt them.Tourists will also have the option of spending a night at the massive cow shelter home, stay at the machhan or temporary cow houses and witness the cows at night.
The tourists can also enjoy delicacies made out of cow milk including ghee, rabri, chaach, lassi, etc at the cow shelter. The Dhyan Foundation Gaushala, which is just 75-km away from Jamshedpur, is being developed in a way that it can attract tourists and also generate employments.
I suggested Dr Shalini Mishra, Head, Management, Dhyan Foundation Gaushala at Chakulia, Jharkhand to convert the Gaushala as Cow Safari on an experimental basis, where 15,000 to 25,000 Nandi can be put up.I suggested that such Nandi safari can be made viable by setting up bio gas plants for power generation & many cow dung based commercial items from cow waste.Nandi safari may initially come up on a pilot basis. Having more than 15000 Nandi & so many cows at one place and with better upkeep facilities, it can be develp for tourism. Like people go to see safaris of other animals ,one can make arrangements for tourists to come and see Nandi safari in Chakulia Dhyan Foundation . To solve the Financial issues, The corporate houses can be requested to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to provide facilities for Rescued Nandi from BSF & abandoned cows in Dhyan Foundation.
In a first of its kind Rajasthan government has already started a cow safari. The safari is located on 12 acers of land at Hingaunia Gaushala on the outskirts of capital city Jaipur. Work on this project is in full swing. The state owned Hingaunia Gaushala, which is presently managed by Akshaypatra Foundation is one of the biggest Gaushala in the country and it houses more than 25000 cows and bulls. The objective of this safari is to create awareness on cow protection and to spread the knowledge related to cow.
initially 200-300 cows of twenty Indian breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkarhas been put in the safari area. The safari track is run on a beautifully landscaped path with water bodies being created under the project. Description of different breeds of cows has been displayed on trees along the safari route. The visitor enjoy the safari track while riding on a bullock cart. Initially three specially designed bullock carts has been employed for this purpose. There is an special cottages (Machan huts) for tourists who want to spend more time at the gaushala. The safari is free for visitors as of now but they will have to pay for staying in the Machan huts.
The Hingonia Gaushala had hit headlines in 2016 when thousands of cows died within two months due to mismanagement by the authorities. At that time this gaushala was managed by the Jaipur municipal carporation. After the incident the management of Gaushala is handed over to an NGO Akshaypatra Foundation, which is now developing it as a breeding centre for desi cows.
Here we want to inform our reads that Rajasthan is the only state in the country to have a dedicated separate cow ministry. There are about 2500 Gaushalas in the state which house more than 8.5 lakh cows.
Rajasthan government charges a 10% cow cess as surcharge on stamp duty for protection and propagation of cows in the state since 2017. This surcharge is applicable on all non-judicial instruments. In the last two financial years the state government collected Rs 895 crore from this surcharge.Last year also Rajasthan government announced a 20% surcharge for cow protection on all varieties of liquor sold in the state.
Cow Based Economy
In India, cow is an integral part of rural life since times immemorial. Indian breeds of cow have innate genetic capacity to produce better quality milk as expressed by the household practices in India and now substantiated by experiments and clinical trials. Indian cow milk has higher level of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) which is anti-carcinogenic. Dung and urine are the major resource of the cow economy, next only to bullock energy. Cow urine can be used as bio fertilizer and pest repellents which helps to increase production of crops as well as reduced cost of production. The cows and bullocks are used in dairying and agricultural purposes such as ploughing, transportation. Dried cow dung (Gobar) is used prolifically in rural India as fuel for fire and a power resource. Environment friendly Gobar Gas Plants across rural India will help save the ozone layer and prevent global warming. It is now well realized that cow farms should be the centres of integral planning to harness milk, manure and power.
Since time immemorial, India has an been agrarian country and Cow has been its backbone. When fertilizers and tractors were unknown, cow was the only source sustaining entire agriculture. Without cows agriculture wouldn’t have been possible. Cows provided the source of Fertilizer (Cow Dung Compost) while Bulls ploughed the land. Additionally Cows provided milk and milk based products, which fetched good commercial value.
For last few decades, especially since Green Revolution and usage of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and tractors, have dealt a massive blow to importance of cows in agriculture. While productivity levels have improved in short term, it has damaged the farming ecosystem. The damage has been so extensive that now it requires a major overhaul, for which Cow based Organic farming is the only remedy. Not only the artificial chemical fertilizers are damaging the soil and water, but they are also very expensive when compared to Cow based natural fertilizers. Due to this dangerous drive for usage of high productivity and chemical fertilizers, farmers have been lured into believing that they don’t need Cows any more. Which has accentuated the agrarian crisis leading to literally thousands of farmer suicides and banks in distress who lend money to them.
To understand how Cow based agriculture model works, let us look at some cow products
1. Cow Milk: Indian Cow milk contains A2 type protein making it superior to exotic breeds. Due to this desi cow milk is in high demand and fetches good money to farmers. Milk products like ghee, paneer, butter, curd, etc. also fetch good amount to the farmers
2. Cow Dung: Compost & fertilizers made from cow dung are organic, natural & cheap (Close to Zero investment) sources to increase yield for farmers. Farmers can save money by developing a Gobar Gas Plant. They can earn money by suppling cow dung cakes, another product in high demand in urban areas
3. Cow Urine: Cow urine is like Amrit for farmers. Farmers can sell cow urine to many Ayurvedic companies where it is extensively used for manufacturing of medicines. They can achieve close to zero spend by using insect repellent produced with cow urine
4. Farming: Farmers can save money by employing oxen of Indian breed as they have high working capacity for longer hours in all climatic conditions. Farmers need not invest in tractors or other machines
5. Medicines: Medicines prepared from cow based products are excellent alternatives to costly chemical based products floated in market by big companies. Farmers can limit their spend by producing these medicines at almost zero cost at home.
6. Importantly while accomplishing all this, the Cow based farming maintains ecological balance beautifully. The fertility of soil increases with the use of cow based products. This makes it possible for farmers to take multiple crops in an year and earn more profits
Economic Factors in Caring for Indigenous Cow
The indigenous cow (IC) is an important animal for Indian civilization, which has had a recorded history of nearly 5,000 years. The Temples of India, and as also the socio-cultural centers prominently display the statute of Nandi bull, the vehicle of Lord Shiva. In ancient times, cow played an important role in daily life. The low-fat milk of the cow was considered as useful substitute for mother’s milk. The cow’s milk was also used for preparing cooking oil, dairy products and desserts. Interestingly, cow was useful for other purposes too. Cow-dung, rich organic manure, was used for plastering the floor as well as manure in the fields, and fuel in terms of dung-cake. And cow urine was also considered to have medicinal values, as well as served as pesticides. The cows were also required for progeny and breeding. Then bulls who are draught animals were useful for ploughing the fields, and also transportation. Hence, there were scientific, cultural and economic factors that made the cow a precious and prized possession for society and individuals. In fact, in Kautilya’s Arthasastra, there are two chapters dedicated to cow. It was for these socio-economic benefits, that cow slaughter was prohibited through centuries, including the period when India was ruled by Mughals.
Times changed. The usefulness of cow was restricted to milk and after milching years, was rendered useless. The pattern and material for flooring changed even in rural areas, and chemical fertilizers emerged to replace cow-dung in fields, and LPG as fuel. Similarly, demand for cow urine declined over time, as well as dependence on cow’s milk for infants. New milk supplements for babies emerged with increasing prosperity, in India. Tractors increasingly replaced bulls for ploughing in fields, especially those of prosperous farmers, and in regions where green revolution was successfully implemented. Consequently, importance of cow, in accordance with economic importance, declined. The cows, during their dry phase and old age, were left unattended as they became a burden on the owners.
The select state Governments provide some financial support, generally meagre, for upkeep of the dry cows but in most cases, dairy owners have to fend for themselves and their cows. In some cases, but not completely, milk/dairy development federations/associations provide financial support through regular purchase of milk. In most cases, dry and old cows would be discreetly sold or dispensed with, to minimize financial burden.
Life Cycle of IC
In India, average life of IC is around 18 years. IC, in general, does not provide milk for first 3-4 years and last 3-4 years. These are the periods when cow-owners need support. The cow milk generally fetches lower price than buffalo milk which is richer in fat-content. The cow-feed is expensive and price of cow milk is generally just sufficient to break-even monthly expenditure of fodder, maintenance, labor, medicine and supplements during milching years, but not the discounted life cycle cost that includes non-milking years, especially old age. On average, cow milk costs about Rs.27 per litre and cow produces an average of about 4 kgs per day, keeping the complete lactation period while feed costs, during milching years, an average of about Rs.125 per day per cow. The value of labor, cow-shed and other maintenance is additional.
The income of the owner from milk is supplemented by birth of female calves, while bull calves have almost nil economic value and deliberately abandoned to wander away. Even the technique of artificial insemination does not ensure 100 percent surety of birth of a female cow and hence, in a life span, a cow may produce only about 4 to 6 female calves. The owner generally guards the female calves but not the aged cow who is also allowed to deliberately wander away. In Border States, according to reports, dry ICs wander away to neighboring countries. If sold, the old IC, depending on weight, can fetch about Rs.15,000, down from Rs.30,000 to Rs.45,000 a few years ago, while if retained, the feeding cost per day is Rs.60 and for 4 years of old age would amount to nearly Rs.88,000, excluding other costs of maintenance. The products from IC, unfortunately, like cow-dung and cow-urine, do not have a developed market and therefore not considered in financial arithmetic. An adult IC, depending on weight, would produce about 6-10 kg of cow-dung and 2 litres of urine per day. However, cow-dung is hardly sold for Rs.1 per kg, and urine for Rs.3-4 per litre but market for these products is yet to develop.
On macro-economy, IC provides employment and is source of income for supply chain of milk, fodder, and labor required for grazing and pasturing. In an emerging country like India where two-third of the population is still dependent on agriculture for livelihood, IC is still an integral part of the rural economy, especially for small and marginal farmers, though not recognized.
Suggestions
To reduce the financial burden on the farmer-owner of IC, and once again make cow a prized possession, Government could initiate certain measures. These could benefit the Gaushalas too, and encourage private sector to supplement the efforts by the Government in caring for IC.
Financial Products to direct savings towards IC: To enhance savings dedicated and directed to IC, Government could consider setting up an Indigenous cow-donation fund, through IC Care Coupons (I3C) in various denominations, exempted from income tax, proceeds of which will be used to finance/subsidize Gaushalas. A special IC-Recurring Deposits Scheme (ICRDS), for the farmer can be introduced where regular contributions can be made during the milching period, and then during the dry period, monthly amount can be dispersed until IC is alive.
Old Age Insurance/Pension to elderly IC: To make IC precious, Government could consider providing old age pension of Rs. 1000 per month, shared equally between states and Centre. The dry ICs are estimated to be around 1.8 crore, mainly in rural areas, and fiscal cost would only be Rs.21,600 crore for the total Government. The Government could also consider extending free medical facilities to dry ICs.
Developing market for Products of IC: There is need to build market for organic manure, vermicomposting, local brick-kilns, and rural bio-gas plants, especially for Gaushalas, for which cow-dung can be used. This will provide farmer with enhanced utility for IC, longer than the milching period. The cow-dung is cheaper than artificial chemically produced manures and also environment friendly. Similarly, need to develop market for cow-urine, a natural organic product, which can serve as an input in pesticides.
To conclude, there is need to recognize that economic factors are important for social and cultural issues like caring for indigenous cows.
COW DUNG- COMPONENTS:
Cow dung, also known as cow pats, pies or manure is the waste product and undigested residue of plant matter which passes through cow’s gut. Cow dung is composed of organic matter including fibrous material that passes through cow’s digestive system. Exact chemical composition is mostly carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous etc. with salt, some urea, cellulose and lignin, hemi cellulose. Its colour ranges from greenish to blackish and darkens after exposure to air.
USES OF COW DUNG:
- AS MANURE
Cow dung is often used as manure and cow manure is consisting of 3% nitrogen, 2% phosphorous and 1% potassium that mixing with the soil improves the moisture holding capacity of the soil. As a result, the roots of the plants can use additional water and nutrients whenever needed. Cow manure fertilizer in all forms is a good addition to the vegetable garden.
- AS FUEL
In rural India and many parts of developing world, cow dung cake is used as fuel. Cow dung can be used as an important resource to use to supplement organic matters and improve soil condition. It has been estimated that an average size of cattle produces 4-6 tonnes of fresh dung every year. In India, and other Asian nations a significant fraction of cow dung is used as cooking and heating fuel after making its bricks.
- AS BIOGAS
Cow dung is also used to produce biogas to generate electricity and heat. The gas is rich in methane (CH4) which is one of the major components of natural gas and easily combustible energy source. Hence, it is used in many parts of India and Pakistan to provide renewable and stable source of electricity. In the last few years, the Government of India has promoted biogas production at individual and community levels using cow dung and other wastes. Biogas is used as cooking and heating fuel in many parts. During this process cow dung is converted into slurry which is again good quality manure and can be applied in agricultural field as soil conditioner. On the other hand, production of biogas by cow dung is a cheap alternative source of energy that can be used for fuel, cooking and producing electricity.
- AS MOSQUITO REPELLENT
Cow dung is used as mosquito repellent also. The chemical based mosquito repellents have some harmful and poisonous chemical that caused harms to human health. But a mosquito repellent prepared from cow dung mixing with other herbal materials free from any kind of side effects on inhalation.
- AS INSULATOR
In few villages in central Africa, cow dung is burnt inside the house to repel mosquitoes. In earlier times in rural India, cow dung was used to line the walls of houses as a cheap thermal insulator. Cow dung coating in the walls of the houses prevent the dwellers from too heat and too cold.
- AS FOOD CHAIN
Cow dung provides food for a wide range of animals and fungus species, which break it down and recycle it into the food chain and into the soil. Cattle have a natural aversion to feeding around their own dung. This can lead to the formation of taller unorganized patches of heavily fertilized sward. These habitat patches termed ‘islets’ can be beneficial for many grasslands arthropods including spider and bugs that have an important function to maintain biodiversity and ecological balance.
- AS WATER HOLDING CARRIER
Cow dung acts as water holding carriers and increases the porosity of soil if the soil is sandy or porous or not retaining the water. Cow dung also increases the geo technical properties like bulk density, dry density, and water holding capacity, porosity, infiltration etc. on soil. By using cow dung soil gets more nitrogen and increases the fertility status of the soil. Thus, increases the growth of plants and sustain productivity.
- AS SOURCE OF ENERGY
Cow dung is a new source of energy for gasoline in energy poor Japan. A team of scientists in Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology had successfully extracted 1.4 millilitres of gasoline from every 100gms of cow dung by applying high pressure and heat. Japanese scientists were also successful to extract an aromatic ingredient known as ‘vanilla’ from cow dung that can be used as fragrance in shampoo and candles.
COW DUNG AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION:
Cow dung has antiseptic, anti radioactive and anti thermal properties. Cow dung protects the dwellers if the floor of the house is coated with cow dung. The Bhopal gas tragedy killed more than 20,000 people but the people living in houses coated with cow dung were not affected. Atomic power stations in India and Russia uses cow dung to shield radiation.
By burning cow dung cake we can balance the atmospheric temperature as well as kill the germs in the air. In Indian villages, people used to coat the wall of their houses with cow dung which prevent them from too hot or too cold weather.
Acid content in the water can be reduced by treating it with cow dung. In the Michigan State University of USA the scientists of the US Environmental Protection Agency invented a new technology “the MC Lanhan Nutrient Separation System” that produces about 50 gallons of pure water per 100 gallons of cow dung and other manure.
Manures from cow dung and urine makes the soil fertile for yielding more nutrient fruits and vegetables for healthy life. Use of cow dung can overcome negative effect of chemical fertilizer in the agricultural field. Dung from one cow is adequate to fertilize 5 acres of land and its urine can protect 10 acres of land from insects.
Cow dung provides food for a wide range of animals and fungus species, which break it into the food chain and into the soil. Cattles have a natural aversion to feeding around their own dung which leads to the formation of taller unorganized patches of heavily fertilized sward. These habitat patches termed “islets” can be beneficial for many grassland arthropods and spider, bugs. They have an important function in maintaining biodiversity in heavily utilized postures. Thus, help to maintain a balance in eco system.
Deforestation is an important cause of environmental degradation. This problem can be solved to some extent by using cow dung for bio gas. India has approximately 30 crore cattle. Using their dung to produce bio gas, we can save 6 crore tons of firewood every year. Using cow dung cake as fuel can also save our forests and that would arrest deforestation to a great extent. Cow dung from a single cow from its life span produces 4500 litres of bio gas which is equivalent to burning of 6, 80, 00,000 tons of wood. Hence, using cow dung can help us to save 14 crore trees from cutting and burning and to protect our environment.
The famous Italian scientist, Prof. G.E.Beagod has proved that fresh cow dung kills germs of Malaria and T.B. Japan uses cow dung to get protection from emission.
Cow dung is the best natural disinfectant. The houses in Indian villages use cow dung paste to coat the floor and wall to keep away the infecting materials. Thus, the villagers enjoy a healthy life.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS:
In Hinduism, people should never show disrespect to for cows as cow is regarded as the gift of God for human race. There is a common belief that one should not feel any repugnance towards the urine or dung of a cow as these are pure and cow represent the divine mother that sustains all human beings and bring them up as her very own offspring.
The vedic fire technique of ‘agnihotra’ was applied by a group of scientist in Yugsaslovia after the Chernobyl disaster and they were able to confirm that after burning a required components of cow dung in the copper pyramid radioactivity is reduced in the immediate vicinity.
Burning of cow dung is a common custom in Middle East. Even the rooms of hospitals in some countries of Southern Europe used to clean by burning cow dung. Cow dung contains a substance which has a disinfecting effect and reduces pathogenic bacteria. Many ancient cultures used cow dung in order to fight various illnesses.
COWnomics
Cows are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and others. In ancient Greece, Egypt, Israel and Rome held similar beliefs. In South India and some parts of Srilanka, a cattle festival is celebrated. Even in Assam, the first day of our main festival(Rongali Bihu) is ‘goru Bihu’. Cows are considered as Goddess Laxmi(the goddess of wealth and prosperity). Thus, in villages people clean their houses with cow dung, sprinkle water mixing with cow dung every morning, hang cow dung cakes in the entrance of the house and burn cow dung cakes so that they remain healthy and wealthy always. All these acts of the people help to protect environment from being polluted. Thus, the religious/traditional beliefs have a great scientific value too.
Cows shouldn’t be considered a burden on the country and society even if they are old, sick, blind, disabled or have stopped giving milk. It is not the right thing to do. One of our religious text, The Puranas, at various instances mention “Gobare Vasate Lakshmi”, meaning “Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth resides in cow’s dung”. This implies that cow dung and urine are a source of wealth and prosperity. Thus, cows are also revered as ‘Kamdhenu’.
The slaughter of cows and other cattle is increasing with every day. So is the poverty level among the poor in the country. This clearly demonstrates that mechanized farming techniques, chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides have not improved the health and economic well-being of the people. The situation is very grave now and continues to deteriorate further. It is very evident that blindly adopting modern methods at the cost of our traditional cow-based farming has not yielded any positive results nor provided any sustainable development and has rather resulted in long-term losses for the nation.
Chemicals are not the natural choice of food for the soil. Chemical fertilizers do tend to increase food production in the beginning, but subsequently, the yield decreases and reaches a point where the land becomes infertile and no amount of fertilizers can improve production. These apart, the crops are laced with pesticide residues, the cost of farming is always on the rise and there’s inflation, farmer health gets effected and poverty keeps increasing. Such is the harmful impact of chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides. Moreover, setting up of these fertilizer and pesticide industries require huge investments, which again is an economic drain on the country and its people.
The agricultural scenario wouldn’t have been the same in India had our cows not been treated as a burden and slaughtered mercilessly. Our agricultural production would not have been so abysmally low if we understood the benefits of cow dung and urine, and utilized them in a scientific manner, initiated further research to improve their efficiency and discovered further applications for improving yields. Since farmers would have owned their livestock, they would not have to depend on the market for agricultural inputs, which also means that their cost of cultivation would be near zero and completely in sync with nature. Low production cost would mean lowering of prices and the government wouldn’t have to resort to subsidies on food, fertilizer and various other doles. There would have been lesser incidence of tax on the masses due to which poverty and inflation would have stayed in control, with growth and prosperity as the order of the day.
Cow dung is the natural food for the soil and helps in maintaining its fertility. In fact, if the cow dung is composted before adding it to the soil, it slowly increases the productive capacity of that land, rather than decreasing it. This is precisely why land in India is still fertile, while lakhs of hectares of land in developed nations have been rendered barren due to unrestrained use of chemicals over the past 60-70 years. The governments and its people in these countries have realised the consequences of their actions and have undertaken organic farming and the use of cow dung for cultivation. We, in India, sadly continue to falsely believe in chemical farming.
In the last 10-12 years, it has been effectively proven that cow dung compost is not inferior to chemicals. The NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) composition in compost is as much as it is in chemicals, with 0.5-1.5% nitrogen, 0.5-0.9%phosphorous, and 1.2-1.4% potassium. These figures have been established after multiple investigations by renowned institutions. The process of making such compost is known as ‘NADEP’ and this method was invented by Mr Narayan Rao Devrai Pandari Pandey, who is fondly known as ‘Nadep kaka’. He has also published this very simple process. Every farmer can prepare it at his farm or at home, and it involves no cost except physical labour.
In the last 10-12 years, it has been effectively proven that cow dung compost is not inferior to chemicals. The NPK composition in compost is as much as it is in chemicals, with 0.5-1.5% nitrogen, 0.5-0.9%phosphorous, and 1.2-1.4% potassium.
One needs a 19 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet high tank or a trench in the ground to prepare about 180 cubic feet of compost. The ingredients are about 100 kilograms of cow dung, around 1750 kilograms of farm and vegetable waste like dried leaves, branches roots, etc. and green matter, refined and dried soil from the fields to the tune of 1750 kilograms as well as about 1500 – 2000 litres of water, as required. Farmers don’t need to spend a penny on the raw material as everything is readily available from their land and cattle. This mixture is coated with cow dung paste and soil before the tank is sealed. The mixture stays in the tank or trench for about 90-120 days, during which it becomes compost. The compost is then appropriately sieved to get about 3 tonnes of fertilizer from as little as 100 kilograms of cow dung. A bag of urea currently costs around Rs 300. We can get about 50 tonnes of compost a year (approx) from a single cow’s dung, leading to great savings for the nation.
The above formula clearly demonstrates that a cow will give back more value to its owner if the farmer uses the cow dung and urine judiciously, than what is spent on its food. The experiment also proves that killing cows or treating them as an unnecessary burden can be very harmful for the economic condition of the country. Russia has conducted studies on the use of cow dung and experienced its functionality. Applying cow dung paste on the outer walls of buildings prevent harmful radiations from seeping in. The effects of pouring ghee into a havan has also been studied in Russia and the findings hinted at the absence of germs or bacteria in the neighbouring areas.
Cow urine is very beneficial for farming. It acts as a natural pesticide without harming the land. It is also used in treating various human ailments and worms in the stomach. The uses of Gaumutrahas not been fully established and it can be a good area of research.
It is common knowledge that we get bio-gas free of cost from cow dung. This gas can be used for cooking and lighting. Unfortunately, gobar gas plants, which should have been installed in every village by now, has not seen such widespread penetration. If such plants had been set up in abundance, there would have been no shortage of energy and electricity. The pressure on trees to meet energy requirements would have considerably lessened and the forest cover would have turned green once again. Our over-burdened energy mechanism could have diverted its resources from rural demand to addressing industrial needs, thereby improving the economic condition of our country. Rural households could have access to clean, smokeless energy. Harmful smoke and fumes are a major cause of eye ailments among rural people today. Cow-dung doesn’t have a cost attached to it and the slurry obtained from gobar gas plants are more fertile because the removal of gas from cow dung increases its nutritional capacity.
Our over-burdened energy mechanism could have diverted its resources from rural demand to addressing industrial needs, thereby improving the economic condition of our country.
The income generated from the complete utilization of cow dung more than makes up for the cost of maintaining the cattle. The milk and labour of the cows are additional benefits to the farmer, which eventually adds up to increased income, a better lifestyle and improved milk supply for their children. The above examples again prove that cattle are of great value, and even after their death, their skin, bones and some parts of their body are a bonus for the farmer. Killing such an animal is a huge blunder.
The evidence of a flourishing cattle population in ancient India can be found in Lord Buddha’s time. Those possessing the maximum number of cows was accorded the status of Shresti, signifying them as the wealthiest in the city. One such Shreshti of the then Pataliputra (present day Patna) invited Bimbisar, the King of Magadh, for dinner. It was a commonly practised custom to make arrangements suiting the status of the invited guest – the higher the eminence, the more elaborate the hospitality. In keeping with this tradition, the Shreshti used rare and precious stones that glowed in the dark, to light up his home as the King dined in that light. This episode goes on to show how rich and prosperous our nation was then. Research and historical records go to say that Shreshtis during those times owned more than a lakh cows each.
Organic vegetables and fruits command as much as 2-3 times the price of chemically grown food in the European markets and the demand is ever increasing. Farmers and other producers in Europe are increasing the proportion of organic fertilizers in their cultivation. Indian tea producers have secured an order at 2.5 times the price for his organically grown tea. There are other big buyers ready to place large orders but due to the lack of availability of compost, the tea company is unable to increase organic production and meet rising demands. The importance of compost and its necessity is clear from the evidences mentioned above.
DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH,LIVESTOCK CONSULTANT, JAMSHEDPUR
Reference-on request
