The Centre has planned to establish a cow circuit to encourage cow tourism in the country, The Times of India reported on Monday.
The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog has decided that the tourist route will pass through places in the country that breed indigenous cows. The board has identified the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa for the cow circuit.
“We have so far focused on religious, recreational and adventurous tourism, but if we can link our cow tourism with tourism hotspots, we will be able to promote our indigenous breeds like Gir from Gujarat, Gangatiri from UP or Ongole from Andhra Pradesh,” Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog Chairperson Vallabh Kathiria told The Times of India.
Kathiria said that products made from cow ghee, cow urine and cow dung will be sold at tourist places, thus promoting tourism.
“We can run such centres at Somnath temple, Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi, jails like Sabarmati Central Jail, Yerwada in Pune, and Tihar Jail in Delhi, along with spas and Ayurvedic healing centres in Kerala and tourist places in Goa,” Kathiria added. “We will establish over 400 such cow tourism centres across the country, which will begin with an initial investment of around Rs 2 crore per centre with public-private partnership.”
The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog was established by an order of the central government in February. “The setting up of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will lead to conservation, protection and development of cattle population in the country including development and conservation of indigenous breeds,” the Centre had said in a press release.
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