Odisha monk campaigns to save indigenous cow


Posted on 25th Mar 2015 02:51 pm by mohit kumar

Puri (Odisha), March 25 (IANS) A monk in Odisha has launched a campaign to save the state's native cow breeds that are on the brink of extinction.

Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, the spiritual leader of the Kriya Yoga of Prajnana Mission, has kept over 150 cows of Odisha's indigenous varieties at his ashrams and urges others, especially farmers, to follow suit.

Prajnanananda, 55, said he stayed three years ago in Rajasthan where such conservation had proved successful.

After returning to Odisha, he started collecting native varieties cows and nurturing them.

"Initially we started with a few. Later the number gradually increased," said the saffron-robed who has travelled widely around the world to promote Kriya Yoga -- a spiritual form of yoga.

"The milk we consume today from hybrid cow is type A1 which can contribute to diseases. But the milk of the native cow is type A2 which is good for health," Prajnanananda told IANS, seated in Hariharananda Gurukulam, an ashram near Puri city.

Situated in the natural surrounding of forests, about 60 km from Bhubaneswar, the ashram houses over 50 cows and calves, mostly of Odisha's indigenous varieties as well as over 200 stray cattle.

The milk produced by the cows cater to the daily needs of hundreds of ashram inmates and regular visitors.

The Hariharananda Balashram, the Prajnana Mission's another religious centre in Kendrapada district, his birthplace, also houses about 85 cows and calves.

Spread over about 10 acres, the ashram also runs a residential school which has 500 children, mostly orphans. They get quality education free of charge up to Class 10.

The students, staff and other inmates consume milk produced by the ashram cows.

The holy man, who has written and translated numerous books on spiritual topics, said the forested areas in the ashram complex provide the domestic animals the natural grazing fields.

He said efforts were under way to collect more such cows.

"From time immemorial the cow has been the backbone of our agrarian economy," he told IANS. "The milk, curd, ghee, cow dung and cow urine of the native cows have medicinal properties."

He lamented that their use has been almost lost.

Prajnanananda has been organising meetings across the state in recent years, motivating farmers to go for and protect the indigenous cow. "Many of them have started preserving the native varieties," he said.

"We plan to set up six 'goshala' (cow shelters) in Odisha to preserve the native cows and bulls," he said.

The native cow's population in Odisha was 13,144,359 in 2003. This fell to 10,315,499 according to the livestock census of 2012, the most recent.

Although the state has several native cow breeds, only four have been listed in the National Registry by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resource (NBAGR).

Prajnanananda, who was an economics professor at the Ravenshaw College in Cuttack before becoming a monk in 1995, said most native cows have evolved naturally through adaptation to Odisha's agro-ecological conditions.

They derive their names from the place of their origin or on the basis of prominent characteristics.

One species seen in Malkangiri district stands less than one metre tall -- and is not found anywhere else in the world.

Another species seen in Jajpur district gives high yield and has greater immunity to a host of livestock diseases.

(Jatindra Dash can be contacted at jatindra.d@ians.in)

0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Anti-black money bill: Salient points (to go with Anti-black money bill tabled in Lok Sabha

Salient points of the Anti-black money bill tabled in the Lok Sabha Friday

* Maximum o

Afghan cricketers started smoking cigarettes on the ground itself: Mohammad Shahzad was seen smoking cigarettes in the ground before the start of the match in BPL; Referee punished

Afghanistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad was seen smoking a cigarette on the ground dur

United Kisan Morcha meeting postponed: will now be held on November 22; 32 farmer organizations of Punjab will decide what will be the strategy of the movement next

The struggle of the farmers on the border of Delhi will continue for now, but what will be its ne

What is America's success in the coronavirus vaccine?

The first Covid-19 vaccine tested in the US has provided the benefits of immunity to the people a

Who will be the new president of the BJP? Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh had a secret meeting with PM Modi.

Before the election of the BJP President, an important meeting was held at his residence under th

Please Don't Make Education Campuses "Battlefield For Politics": Smriti Irani’s Verdict On JNU Attack

Sunday's huge bloody violence at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) shoc

BTS 10th Anniversary: South Korea's capital decorated in purple color, K-pop stars celebrated BTS anniversary like this

BTS 10 Anniversary: Who does not know the famous music band BTS of South Korea? BTS band has a wo

PM Modi: 'Manmohan Singh set an example for the country...' when Modi openly praised the former PM in Rajya Sabha

PM Modi praised Manmohan Singh: While addressing the farewell ceremony of MPs in Rajya Sabha, PM

'Whoever hides in the dark, I meet him there...', Trailer release of Ajay Devgan's 'Rudra'

Fans were waiting for a long time for the digital debut of Bollywood's 'Singham' Ajay Devgan. The

UPSSSC PET Exam 2022: What is PET and what are its benefits, know complete details from here

The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission has started the application process f

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash