Andhra Pradesh   

Rescuing cows is his passion

S. Harpal Singh

Madhav, a commission agent, purchases cows for sale at the animal shandy and prevents them from being slaughtered

ANIMAL LOVER: Y. Madhav with some of the cows he has saved from slaughter.

GUDA RAMPUR (ADILABAD DT.): Y. Madhav, a Cotton Commission agent in Adilabad, is an altruist extraordinaire in that he has saved 200 cows from the butcher's cleaver. After purchasing the animals put up for sale at the animal shandy during the last three years, he looks after them at his agriculture lands.

These `rescued' bovines have doubled over the period and at present some 400 cows and calves live without fear in cowsheds at his farm lands in Guda Rampur in Jainad mandal and Umdam in Talamadugu mandal.

A disciple of Asaram

The `Hari Om' with which he answers phone calls reveals much about Madhav's personality and answers questions on the unusual hobby of collecting cows. A dedicated follower of Asaram Bapu, the famous sermoniser, he considers the cow as a holy animal.

"In one of his discourses, Asaram Bapuji told about the `punya' that comes with serving the holy cow. I ingrained that and started purchasing the cows that were being sold in the Adilabad market yard.

These cows would otherwise have gone for slaughter," he disclosed.

Herbal treatment

Purchasing 200 cows for sums ranging between Rs. 1,500 and 2,000 may be costly, but, "It has given me a lot of happiness though," said Madhav. "I need to spend Rs. 20,000 on fodder only in summer. Besides, I spend Rs. 85,000 per year on salaries of the six farm hands that tend to the animals," he added.

The cows are given herbal medicine for disease treatment. Ayurveda is one of the main aspects of Asaram Bapu's teachings. "Not one animal has died since the use of herbal medicine," pointed out Madhav.

The cotton businessman also has plans to set up a gobar gas bottling unit. The growing number of animals in the herd is an encouraging factor as also the idea of employment generation locally.

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