Karnataka to replicate Gujarat model of cow protection: Minister Chavan

The minister is on a tour to study guashalas and the cow protection regime in Gujarat. He said he visited Anandabawa Ashram Gaushala in Jamnagar and Shreeji Gaushala in Rajkot. He added he was due to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Governor Acharya Devvrat later in the evening.

He said Karnataka had drawn from Gujarat as well as Uttar Pradesh while drafting its law prohibiting cow slaughter last year. “Karnataka cow protection law is one of the strictest in the country. We have booked more than 500 people under the new law and saved 10,000 cows from being slaughtered,” said Chavan.

He said Karnataka is following Gujarat’s Amul model by forming the Karnataka Cooperative Milk-producers’ Federation Ltd (KMF), which has 14 district cooperative milk producers’ unions as its members and 14,000 village-level milk producers cooperative societies. “Karnataka today process 90 lakh litres of milk every day and we are second after Gujarat in this respect. Not only that, the Karnataka government gives Rs 5 per litre incentive to dairy farmers who are supplying milk to KMF that is called Nandini,” said Chavan.

He said to tackle the issue of feral cattle, the Karnataka government has decided to set up gaushalas in 19 districts and Rs 15 crore have been allotted for that purpose. He added that foundation stones of three of these proposed guashalas have been laid. “The government is allotting 50 acres to 100 acres land for setting up these guashalas. Our efforts will be to make them Aatma Nirbhar,” said Chavan, adding there are 85 lakh cows in Karnataka.