NGO turns around Jaipur's neglected cow shelter, checks deaths
Recently, an app was launched by the shelter to allow people order cow milk for home delivery.
Jaipur: An NGO has turned around Jaipur's Hingonia Gaushala within 12 months of it hitting headlines over high number of cow deaths. The stage is now set for the facility to become a centre for cow tourism. A breeding centre for 34 varieties of cows is also planned.
Once managed by the BJP-ruled Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC), the facility for 14,000 stray cows now has a significantly low death rate and higher income from milk products.
Buoyed by the year-long experiment with NGO Akshya Patra, the JMC, in the presence of chief minister Vasundhara Raje, recently signed a MoU giving the NGO the responsibility of rehabilitation of cows at the centre for the next 19 years.
In the past one year, the number of daily deaths at the shelter came down from 90 to 30 and milk production jumped from 150 litres to 2,400 litres per day.The trust saved Rs 10 lakh per month in expenditure by diversifying procurement of cattle feed. While cow milk is being sold at Rs 45 a kg, cow dung/manure is being sold at Rs 20 a kg.
The shelter was in the eye of a storm last August after the Rajasthan government statement showed that 8,122 cows had died there between January 1 and July 31, 2016, due to ill-health and accidental injuries.
Recently, an app was launched by the shelter to allow people order cow milk for home delivery. Radha Priya Das, in-charge at the gaushala, said, "Initially, we have started milk supply in Jagatpura area. Soon, milk will be supplied across the city. People can also order other cow milk products such as curd, ghee and paneer through the app."