Are you ready for a ‘Cow Tour’ in India?

Photo Courtesy: Ram Kumar

India offers myriad options for a traveller with its beautiful hill stations, majestic waterfalls, dense forests, and the greenery altogether. But, it has something special for you this time. The Government of Gujarat is welcoming you to its novel concept, Cow Tourism, to popularise the animal.

Tourists can now visit cow shelters and grazing spots to see how the animal is reared and how products are made with cow urine and dung. The Gujarat Gauseva Ayog is arranging two-day trips to some of best-kept cow shelters and grazing spots in the state.

“Cow tourism is a step towards making people understand the economic benefits of keeping cows. Most people are not aware that we can earn good income by preparing some basic products, such as biogas and medicines, using cow dung and urine,” said Gauseva Ayog Chairperson Vallabh Kathiria.

Cow urine is believed to have medicinal properties and is used to make organic phenyl and soap, while cow dung is used to produce biogas, fertilisers and incense sticks.

Dharmaj village near Anand is one of the destinations on the tour, where tourists can see how land is prepared for grazing. Gujarat Gauseva Ayog claims that those who are concerned about the well-being of the animal take ideas from such model gauchar during the trip and implement them at their village. Kathiria also said that many people who have attended the tour have started rearing cows and built their own cow shelters.

Ayog is also planning other projects to popularise cow rearing. Currently, the group is in talks with jails and educational institutes to build cow shelters on their premises. At present, jails in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bhuj have cow shelters. The Ayog is in talks with the authorities of Gondal and Amreli jails to open such gaushalas on their premises.