Cow is mother, sacred for us: PM
Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stones of 27 projects worth ₹2,095 crore in Varanasi
VARANASI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said talking about cow has been made a matter of “sin” by some people but “it is mother and sacred for us”.
The PM was addressing a rally in Varanasi after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of 27 projects worth Rs 2095 crore, including the Banas Dairy Kashi Sankul at Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority Food Park, in Karkhiyaon here just months ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
He said those making fun of cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of eight crore families depends on “pashudhan” (livestock).
“Talking about cow, talking about ‘gobardhan’ (cow dung) has been made a matter of ‘gunah’ (sin) by some people. Cow can be a sin for some people, for us it is mother, sacred (gaaye kuch logo ke liye gunah ho sakti hai, hamare liye gaaye, mata hai, poojniye hai),” Modi said.
Alleging that previous governments ignored the dairy sector, Modi said strengthening and promoting this sector is one of the topmost priorities of his government. In this direction, the foundation of the Banas Dairy Kashi Sankul has been laid in Varanasi, he said.
Spread across 30 acres, Banas Dairy Kashi Sankul will be built at a cost of about Rs 475 crore and would process about 5 lakh litre milk per day.
This is Modi’s second visit to his constituency in the past 10 days. Earlier, he had inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in the city on December 13.
The Prime Minister digitally transferred a bonus of about Rs 35 crore to the bank accounts of more than 1.7 lakh milk producers.
“I firmly believe the dairy sector, animal husbandry, new energy in white revolution of the country can play a big role in changing the condition of farmers. There are many reasons for this belief. First, animal husbandry can become a huge source of additional income for the small farmers of the country, whose number is more than 100 million,” he said.
“Second, India’s dairy prod
ucts have a huge market abroad, in which we have a lot of potential to move forward. Third, animal husbandry is a great way for the economic uplift of women, to further their entrepreneurship. And the fourth is that our livestock is also a basis for biogas, organic farming and natural farming,” he said.
Milk production in the country has increased by about 45% as compared to seven years ago, he said.
“Today, India produces about 22% of the world’s milk. I am happy that today UP is not only the largest milk producing state in the country, it is also ahead in the expansion of the dairy sector,” he added.
Modi also launched a portal and a logo dedicated to the Conformity Assessment Scheme of milk products developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with the help of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
An integrated logo featuring Kamdhenu cow has also been launched for certification, he said. When this proof, this logo is visible, it will be easy to identify purity and also increase the credibility of India’s milk products, he said.The PM also stressed on natural farming, saying it is the need of the hour.
With the passage of time, the scope of natural farming was reduced and chemical farming became dominant, he said.
“For the rejuvenation of the earth, to protect our soil and to secure the future of the coming generations, we must once again turn to natural farming,” he said. Modi also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary which is celebrated as Kisan Diwas.
The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones for a biogasbased electricity generation plant and a homeopathic medical college.
About the projects in Varanasi, he said, “Varanasi is fast turning into a model of development. New projects are bringing unprecedented ease and convenience for the people of Varanasi.”
In another effort to reduce the number of land ownership issues at the grassroots level, PM virtually distributed the rural residential rights record, “Gharauni”, under the Swamitva scheme of the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj to over 20 lakh residents of the state.
Modi also inaugurated multiple urban development projects, including six for the redevelopment of Old Kashi wards, a parking-and-surface park at Beniabag, beautification of two ponds, a sewage treatment plant and provisioning of advanced surveillance cameras at 720 locations under the Smart City Mission.
Projects in the education sector inaugurated by the prime minister include the Union Education Ministry’s Inter University Centre for Teachers Education, built at a cost of around Rs 107 crore, and a teachers’ education centre at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, built at a cost of over Rs 7 crore.
He inaugurated a project comprising a doctors’ hostel, a nurses’ hostel and a shelter home, built at Rs 130 crore, at Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre, a 50-bed Integrated Ayush Hospital at Bhadrasi.
MODI ALSO INAUGURATED MULTIPLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, INCLUDING SIX FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF OLD KASHI WARDS