The Supreme Court of India has stated that cows
should not be slaughtered in the name of religion
in the country.
It is mostly known that they are being killed
in many States on Bakr Id. Hence one can only
hope that State Governments would take necessary
steps to honor the verdict of the Apex Court of
the country to save the cow on all such religious
days when it is indiscriminately killed.
Scriptures have hailed the cow saying : Gawo
vishwasya matarah, The cow is the mother of
the universe.
The Cow is a mother not only because it provides
milk with maternal affection but also in the sense
that it absorbs harmful pesticides and chemical
residues of the fodder, in her body and only a
little quantity which she can not absorb, comes
out through her milk. It has been found through
researches at agricultural universities that if
the same fodder containing DDT, BHC and other
pesticides is given to the cow and buffalo the
milk of cow contains only 5% of DDT and BHC etc,
while the milk of buffalo contains 12% of the
same.
It may be of interest to know that when the cow
is milked, the milk coming out in the beginning
contains only 2% fat which is good for old people
and patients. The milk coming out next, contains
4% fat which is advisable for the growing children.
The milk coning out in the last containing 10%
fat is advisable for the calf, pregnant women
and hard-working people. When the milk is turned
into curd the top layer contains 50% fat which
is good for pregnant women and lean and thin people.
Curd in the bottom contains only 5% fat recommended
for obese people, heart patients and diabetics.
The middle portion of the curd contains 20 to
25% fat which is good for growing children. Buffalo
milk contains about double the quantity of fat,
which is not good for general health and at the
same time is not easily digestible. Eminent Naturopaths
and the Ayurveda cite various examples of how
cow's milk can cure several diseases, treatment
of which is still not found by medical sciences.
It is wrong to argue that cows after becoming
dry, become a burden.
The fact remains, that even after becoming dry,
the cow through its dung and urine, through NADEP
process or through liquid organic manure process
provides as much as Rs 20-25 thousand worth of
manure in terms of NPK. Obviously, it is a boon
to the poor farmers.
The first step to be taken is to stop indiscriminate
killing of animals so that we can get ample quantity
of animal dung along with animals for draught
for manuring and farming.
In this context, I give below details of the process,
popular in Africa.
Collect animal dung (fresh dung), put it in a
sack, and tie it securely. Suspend the bag in
a drum of urinated water. The sack should contain
40-50 kgs dung, the drum should have about 200
lbs. of water containing adequate quantity of
animal urine. Use a stick to suspend the bag.
Move the stick up and down to stir the mixture
and to quicken the release of nutrients. Do this
every three days. Once the nutrients are fully
released keep the water for 10-15 days. The liquid
manure shall be ready for use, when the color
of the water changes to dark brown.
The liquid manure is ideal for top-dressing of
growing crops. It should be around the roots of
the plants. Before use, the manure should be diluted
in the ratio of 1:2.
The above process makes every animal, even old
or barren, economically viable, since animal,
whether cow or buffalo, horse or donkey can provide
about 1,500 liters of concentrated liquid manure
in a year, from its dung and urine, which if valued,
on the basis of the cost of chemical fertilizer,
chemical pesticides and better return on investment
to the farmer, shall be worth thousands of rupees
yearly and thus any farmer can earn much more
than the expenditure he incurs in maintaining
the animal.
Mother
Cow top
