BENGALURU: Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu B Chavan on Thursday said that he adopted 31 cows in government and private goshalas, one in each district under ‘Punyakoti Dattu Yojana’ (cow adoption) scheme.
The portal was launched by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at his home office ‘Krishna’ on Thursday. Chavan mentioned providing nutrition and care for the cows as the motive for the adoption.
“Adopting 31 cows on this day and helping them in their nutrition and care is the motive of my past birth virtue. Earlier, on my birthday, I had adopted cows in Bidar Goshala. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai adopted 11 cows at Rashtrothana Goshala on his birthday and set an example for us all,” the minister said.
Sharing details on the implementation of the ‘Punyakoti scheme’, Chavan urged ministers, MLAs, people and organisations to adopt cows.
“One hundred cows have been adopted by the public, including me, in government and private goshalas and 1,314 people have donated to goshalas. There are 123 goshalas registered on the Punyakoti Dattu Yojana portal across the state and registration of 60 goshalas is in progress,” he said, adding that 16,650 cattle have been registered.
Chavan informed that with the implementation of the scheme, Karnataka became the first state in the country to come up with any such programme.
“After the enactment of the Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, a government cowshed has been established in the districts. Karnataka is the first state in the country to implement the Punyakoti Adoption Scheme. He said that the Punyakoti Dattu Yojana has been implemented in the budget for 2022-23,” he said.
The aim of the scheme is to make cowsheds financially sound with the cooperation of the public. “The aged, sick, needy, exhausted, abandoned cattle brought by farmers, male calves and cattle seized by court and police custody will be sheltered and nurtured,” he said.
“Under the Punyakoti Dattu Yojana, cow adoption, donation to Goshala and cattle feeding schemes are provided for the public to take care of cows in cowsheds. Media should promote this project,” the minister said. Chavan appealed to the public to adopt cows and participate in the conservation of the herd. (ANI)