Trivendra Singh Rawat

DEHRADUN: Days after BJP MP from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Ajay Bhatt raked a controversy by saying that women can avoid caesarean deliveries by drinking water from Garud Ganga (a river in Bageshwar district of Kumaon), chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that cow is the only animal that inhales and exhales oxygen.

Going a step further, he added that by giving a massage to gau mata , people can be cured of their breathing problems.

In a video that has gone viral, the CM asserts that this is why cow is called “mata” (mother) as it gives “pran vayu” (oxygen) to the people. He added, “Cow dung and gau-mutra (cow urine) is also extremely good for the entire body, including the heart and kidney. One can be cured of TB if he/she is near a cow. Our scientists are now certifying these facts,” he said.

Rawat was speaking at a function in Dehradun a few days ago.

When contacted, a source in the chief minister’s office on condition of anonymity said, “This is a common belief in the hills of this region and the CM has said what the people of this state believe in. An ailing person has a quick recovery when he/she is close to a cow.”

He added that some people are against the CM and they are making this an issue to tarnish his image. “Studies and experiments have proved the medical properties of cow urine. Since time immemorial, cows and humans have shared a strong bond and people living in the hills of the state belief that cow gives them oxygen,” he said, adding that the video was a few weeks old.

However, a livestock expert had different views on the matter. Requesting anonymity, the expert said, “Cows emit methane, which is not good for the ozone layer. Among animals, cows release the maximum amount of methane, which is among the causes for depletion of ozone layer and global warming.” He added that cow is a polygastric animal and emits methane while belching.

On curing TB, the expert said that studies suggest that goat milk is good for the treatment of TB. “Fat globules in goat milk are small, which makes it easily digestible,” he said.

