India’s first cow sanctuary opened in MP’s Malwa

The country’s first cow sanctuary, set up by the government, was inaugurated on Wednesday in Madhya Pradesh’s Agar Malwa district.

Updated on: Sep 27, 2017, 23:24:20 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Neeraj Santoshi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The country’s first cow sanctuary, set up by the government, was inaugurated on Wednesday in Madhya Pradesh’s Agar Malwa district.

It was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Gau Samvardhan Board chairperson Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri and RSS Kshetra Sanghchalak Ashok Soni by worshipping 11 cows.

The sanctuary, also called Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya has been developed by the MP Gau Samvardhan Board in Salaria village, nearly 50 kms from the district headquarters.

Spread over 472 hectares, the sanctuary has the capacity to house 6,000 cows. It was built at a cost of Rs 32 crore. The Samvarddhan Board runs over 600 registered gaushalas in the state in which over 1.4 lakh bovines are reared.

Speaking on the occasion, Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri said that a small gaushala, like Gangotri, in a remote village of the district has now taken the shape of mighty Ganga and emerged as Asia’s first cow sanctuary.

“We had to face many challenges in establishing it, but we overcame them and now it is ready to serve”, he said.

Swami Akhileshwaranand went on to say the cow could play an important role in uplifting the economy of the country and leave behind other major economies like US.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.