Cow conservation centre at Varanasi: Union Agriculture Minister

Varanasi: A cow centre would be set up here for conservation and development of indigenous breeds of the animal. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the centre on Monday, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

The proposed Gangatiri Cows' Conservation and Development Centre will come up at Araji Line, Shahnshahpur, in Varanasi. The minister said that a new scheme 'National Gokul Mission' has been launched for the development and protection of indigenous breeds. Uttar Pradesh was ranked first in milk production at 24.19 million tonnes in 2013-14, but it is behind many states in milk productivity, the minister said.

Emphasising the need to conserve indigenous cow breeds, the minister said that Uttar Pradesh is known for many native cow breeds such as Mewati, Kehrigadh, Ponwar, and buffalo breeds like Bhadavri.

'Gangatiri' is an important breed of the state and its promotion and conservation is being carried through Uttar Pradesh Livestock Development Board, Singh added.

"In the absence of a central programme on the protection and promotion of native species, the number of native breeds and their production capacity is no longer consistent," he said.

He also said that the state government has been able to spend only Rs 10 crore out of total allocation of Rs 37 crore for the development and protection of indigenous breeds under the National Gokul Mission.