Cow urine being collected at Gopal Govardhan Gaushala in Jalore. Cow urine being collected at Gopal Govardhan Gaushala in Jalore.

Holy cow! When it comes to cleaning offices, bovine urine is the best. No wonder, this idea put forth first by Women and Child Development Minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi in March this year has found favour in government hospitals of Rajasthan that may soon switch over to it.

Gandhi had then said: "No harm to janitors by way of daily exposure to chemicals, and cows will be valued more." She was speaking after reports that government offices in New Delhi might replace phenyl with 'Gaunyle', derived from cow urine and carrying the fragrance of neem and pine.

To begin with, the product will be used in Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, the state's premier hospital attached with the SMS Medical College.

"If this is a success in the SMS Hospital, its use would be extended to all hospitals acrossthe state," announced Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore. He made this announcement while inaugurating a cow urine refinery, said to be first of its kind in the world, at Pathmeda village near Sanchore town of Jalore district on Sunday.

The Rs. 4-crore refinery has been set up by Parthvimeda Gau Pharma Private Limited, a foundation known for its 250-acre Gopal Govardhan Gaushala (cow shelter or sanctuary for cows, calves and oxen) at the village. The company manufactures and markets a large range of cow milk and urine based products.

The cow urine refinery at Pathmeda in Jalore. The cow urine refinery at Pathmeda in Jalore.

Senior executive of the gaushala and in-charge of the cow urine refinery Vaidya Shyam Singh Rajpurohit told Mail Today that the refinery has a daily capacity of preparing 7,000 litres extract of cow urine, of which about 50 per cent would be used for preparing the cleaner that would be marketed with trade name 'Gocleaner'.

Rathore asserted that cow urine has medicinal use for diabetic and heart patients. Referring to the successful use of panchgavya (cow's five products) - milk, ghee, curd, extract of cow dung and urine - in treating human ailments, he said that the state government would incorporate its knowledge in ayurvedic studies.

Commenting on the recent memorandum of understanding signed between Jodhpur-based Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan Ayurved University and Bikaner's Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, he emphasised on the need for research on various products obtained from cows.

Even, Professor Virendra Kumar Vijay at the IITDelhi's Centre for Rural Development and Technology said that while the cow urine-based liquid may not be as strong as phenyl, the absence of harmful side-effects makes the product preferable.

Last year, a BJP MP had suggested in Parliament that cow urine can be mixed with neem leaves to make a better insecticide.