Students in Haryana will now learn why cows are treated as holy animals in the country. For this, the Manohar lal Khattar led Haryana Government will introduce books in the Government schools to sensitise the younger generation about the importance of cows.
The books to be distributed in the Government schools will apprise the students about the necessity of cow protection and various products which can be manufactured using cow milk, urine and cow dung.
“We have planned to distribute books in all government schools to teach the students about the importance of cows. The books are likely to be introduced by the end of this year,” said Bhani Ram Mangla, chairman of Haryana Gau Seva Aayog while talking to The Pioneer.
“The move is aimed at inculcating in the minds of children a sense of love and care for cows. With this initiative, the students will be encouraged to take care of cows in their vicinity or gaushalas (cow shelters),” he said.
Bhani Ram Mangla said that for cow protection, the State Government has taken a slew of measures including ban on cow slaughter, constituting district level teams to monitor and stop cow smuggling, undertaking campaign to rehabilitate stray cattle and also, promoting various products which can be manufactured using cow milk, urine and cow dung. Information about such measures would also be publicized in schools, he said.
“The book is being written by gau sevaks in Pinjore and will be sent for publishing soon,” he added.
Haryana Government, which is known for its love for the cow, had in 2015 enforced Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gau Samvardhan Act 2015 making cow slaughter punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine from Rs 30,000 to Rs one lakh.
The government has also recently launched ‘Haryana Besahara Gauvansh Mukt Yojana’ to make the state stray cattle-free by the end of this month.
Among various initiatives of the State Government for cow protection includes ear-tagging of cattle, appointing a senior IPS officer and district level committees to monitor cases of cow smuggling and slaughtering in the State, banning consumption of beef, proposal of construction of cow sanctuaries in rural areas, cow hostels in major cities and gaushalas in jails.
The State has 18.08 lakh cattle. Out of total cattle population, 8.12 lakh are indigenous cattle and 9.96 lakh are exotic/crossbred cattle, as per the 2012 livestock census.