The Hariharananda Gurukulam will establish 10 cow sanctuaries in Odisha to take care of thousands of cows, particularly the native species of the State.
Stating this at a news conference here, Gurukulam president Swami Suddhanada Giri said the first sanctuary would be set up in the Gurukulam’s Balighai Ashram premises in Puri district, for which the Pragyan Mission has earmarked 10 acres of land to house 10,000 cows and would bear all the costs of the sanctuary. This sanctuary would become functional before the coming Rath Yatra of Shree Jagannath, he said.
While stating that nine more such sanctuaries would come up in the near future, Swamiji appealed to followers of all faiths and religious institutions to contribute generously for this noble mission. The cow sanctuaries are being developed in line with the one established in Rajasthan by the Swami Bajrasaran Dasmaharaj which houses 1.5 lakh cows, he said.
It would be easier if the State Government provides land in different districts for these cow sanctuaries, he maintained.
Swami Suddhanada said that since time immemorial, Hindus worship cows. The sanctuaries would house native species, which are on the verge of extinction. To mark the initiation of this mega project, a weeklong special ritual “Surabhi Yajna” dedicated to cows would be organised from May 12 to 18 in the Balighai Ashram premises.
Sankaracharya of Puri Gobardhan Peeth Swami Neeschalananda Saraswati and chief servitor of Shree Jagannath Gajapati Divyasingh Deb besides thousands of Gosevaks are expected to participate in the Yajna, he said.