Cow dung touch: Chhattisgarh school, hostel get fresh coat of paint

About 20 women are employed in the unit and its production capacity is a minimum of 500 litres of paint per day. Depending on the production of the paint, all government buildings in the state will be painted in future with the “gobar paint”, the collector added.

One member of a women self-help group, Jageshwari Bhaskar (45), told The Indian Express that preparing the paint will increased her salary from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per month.

Bhaskar, a resident of Kherkheda village who travels 15 km to the unit in Saradhunawagaon every day, said, “We hope to earn more money from this initiative. I used to earn Rs 3,000 a month but I am hoping to earn Rs 5,000 by preparing and selling this paint. The villagers are also getting money by selling cow dung to us.”

“At present, the paint is being prepared in Kanker and Chhattisgarh capital Raipur; efforts are on to prepare it in other districts. The paint is being sold at Rs 125 per litre,” said a government official.

The demand for the paint is likely to increase as earlier this week all government departments were ordered by the Chief Minister to compulsorily use cow dung paint for all government buildings.

Baghel also warned of strict action against officials if they would violate the order. The move is aimed at strengthening rural economy and ensure environmental protection, said an official.

Under the Godhan Nyaya Yojana, vermicompost, supercompost and other products are being manufactured in gauthans using cow dung procured at two rupees per kg.

The CM’s initiative was appreciated by BJP leader and Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, who tweeted, “His (Baghel’s) decision is commendable and welcome. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi I started this as the MSME minister. The use of natural paint will not only protect the environment but also provide a new opportunity to the farmers and benefit them.”

Replying to the tweet, Baghel thanked the minister for acknowledging his initiative and called him a “karmayogi”. He tweeted, “Respect for cow and labour is a path shown by Gandhi and we are moving forward on that.”