Government tries to make cow shelters viable

Mumbai: Two years after banning slaughter of cow progeny, the Maharashtra government has finally selected three sites to set up cow shelters — Dapcheri near Mumbai, Pohre in Amaravati and Tathvadi in Pune. It has also received a grant of  Rs 15 crore from the Centre for it. But now it is finding it difficult to make the cow shelters economically sustainable. The state government has asked the Government College of Engineering, Pune, to chalk out a plan to make the shelters viable, as it is likely that most of the cows would be too old for milk production.  

The shelters have been selected under the Centre’s Rashtriya Gokul Mission, a scheme that aims at enhancing the productivity of the indigenous Indian cow breeds through professional farm management and superior nutrition. “Old cows and bulls will be kept here as they are of no use to farmers. The shelters will be built with the funding from the Centre, however, we have to make them financially viable,” an official from animal husbandry department said.

“We have roped in the Government College of Engineering in Pune to chalk out a plan and make the shelters financially viable. We are expecting that plan in the next few days. There are a few experiments regarding making the cow shelter economically sustainable and we will soon have our own model for it. It will help other cow shelters at district level, which the state government will fund,” he added.

 The state government will have a separate scheme for cow shelters that will receive a fund of  Rs one crore each in every district. Animal husbandry minister Mahadev Jankar had said that he would be seeking help from yoga guru Baba Ramdev and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, as both are experienced in making cow shelters economically viable.

Balancing act

• The state has asked Government College of Engineering, Pune, to chalk out a plan to make the shelters viable.
• Animal husbandry minister Mahadev Jankar had said he would seek help from yoga guru Baba Ramdev and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, as both are experienced in making cow shelters economically viable.