LUCKNOW: The Yogi government has created a record of sorts by not only ensuring daily delivery of milk to the doorstep of about 23 crore population in the state, but it has also made arrangements for fodder to over five lakh

and is ensuring that over 1.50 lakh street dogs and an equal number of monkeys in and around closed temples are fed daily.

Principal secretary, dairies and the animal husbandry department, Bhuwanesh Kumar, is responsible for monitoring that the milk chain between rural areas and cities is not broken. He is also receiving hundreds of videos daily on his mobile phone from his field staff and NGOs engaged in feeding stray animals during the lockdown period.

The CM has set up over 5,000 cow shelters to accommodate over five lakh cows. During his daily briefing with officers he never forgets asking about the well-being of cows from Kumar. His query: 'Gai theek hain' (Are cows fine) adds more responsibility on the shoulders of Kumar, keeping him on his toes round the clock. He has opened a 24x7 control room at the APC (agriculture production commissioner) office to supervise operations.

With over one crore farmers, three-crore milching animals and production of eight crore-litre milk daily, UP is the highest milk producing state in the country having about 18 per cent share. It is also the largest milk producer in the world. With the country facing lockdown due to spread of Covid-19, Kumar faced an uphill task of ensuring that crores of litres of milk do not get wasted, leading to financial losses to people engaged in the dairy trade.

Kumar is also known as a 'curfew expert' in the IAS cadre because of his role in defusing crisis situation in Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut communal riots in the past. “My experience in handling such situations is now paying. I have seen how people suffer in the absence of essential commodities,” recalled Kumar talking to TOI on Friday.

“From the day one of the lockdown I asked the home department and district authorities not to block the movement of people carrying milk cans on bicycles. This way I ensured that the milk supply chain from the village to dairy plants in the state capital do not break,” the officer added.

Over 17,000 men, both in private and government sectors, are engaged in the doorstep delivery of milk in cities. There is no complaint of shortage of milk or its blackmarketing, he said. “True, the prices of milk have come down a bit, but mikmen have a huge relief that their produce is being sold in the market,” said Kumar who is also MD of the Pradeshik

with the brand name of Parag. The PCDF along with private dairies is ensuring proper supply of milk in the state in this crisis time.

Another challenge before Kumar is ensuring proper maintenance of 5,000 cowsheds accommodating over five-lakh stray cows, a project with which

is emotionally attached. He has already suspended several officers, including a district magistrate, for poor maintenance of cowsheds.