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Cow dung procurement scheme helped farmers tide over tough Covid times: Chhattisgarh govt

The farmers and cattle rearers of Chhattisgarh were getting benefited by selling cow dung at ₹ 2 per kg to the state government which uses it to prepare organic fertilisers.

Chhattisgarh’s ’Godhan Nyay Yojana’, under which farmers benefit through cow dung procurement at ₹ 2 per kg, helped them sail through hard times during the Covid pandemic and strengthened the rural economy, the state government said on Tuesday.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the state has achieved many goals through this one scheme.

He said that the scheme has helped in strengthening the rural economy of the state, increased purchasing power by putting money in pockets of rural people and solved the problem of disposal of wastes produced by cattle and problem of cattle grazing.

Cow dung in Chhattisgarh has turned out to be a saviour for school-going children, farmers and poor cattle rearers as the money received after selling it to the state government has helped them sustain the blow of lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, the state government said in a statement.

"When schools were closed due to pandemic and education of children was getting affected, a farmer from Chhattisgarh purchased a laptop by selling cow dung so that his children could continue their studies through online classes," the statement said.

While some in the state paid educational fees with earnings by selling cow dung, others got houses built and got mortgaged land released, it said.

The farmers and cattle rearers of Chhattisgarh were getting benefited by selling cow dung at ₹ 2 per kg to the state government which uses it to prepare organic fertilisers.

Officials cited the example of Ramesh Kashyap of Patan block in Durg whose two sons could not take online classes.

Seeing the dedication of his sons towards studies, he decided to purchase a laptop from the amount he received by selling cow dung under the Godhan NyayYojana between August 2020 and January 2021, the officials said.

The state government transferred the amount directly into his bank account and he utilized the money for purchasing the laptop, they said.