

CHANDIGARH: Cows and bulls will walk the ramp in Haryana this month-end. After bringing in stringent laws against cow slaughter in the state, the state government has announced a hold contest on February 27 and 28, to select the best cow and bull specimens of indigenous breeds in Haryana. During the contest, cows and bulls, decked up in all traditional paraphernalia, will strut before a crowd in Rohtak. A panel of judges will pick the best from the cattle brigade.

This is for the first time the state government is organizing such a contest. According to animal husbandry minister Om Prakash Dhankar, the state government will honour the owners of the best cow and bull with cash award of Rs 1 lakh in each category. Officials hint that the prize amount might be increased if the government found sponsors for the event.

Haryana's native breeds like Hariana and Sahiwal would be participating in different categories of the contest. The government hopes to promote indigenous breeds and build a brand for some particular breeds' milk. "The bulls of Hariana breed are known for their beauty in the rural areas," Dhankar said, adding that cows of this breed were the most beautiful bovine variety in the country.

Haryana is also known for its Murrah buffaloes across the country. A few months after coming to power, the state government had decided not to inseminate indigenous breeds of cows with foreign breeds under the cross-breeding programme, which was being followed since past four decades. State officials admitted that the farmers' fascination for cross-breeding was increasing due to high yield of milk. A pure Holstein Friesian (HF) breed cow can yield up to 50kg milk a day but the Haryana animal husbandry department had been promoting mix breed of HF cows and local variety to check spread of diseases. Officials say cross-breed cows yield around 8.9 litre milk daily in comparison to 5.6 litre of deshi variety.

A Hariana breed cow in Jassawas village of Mahendergarh district in 2015 had yielded 19.39 kg milk in a day. This was the highest record of milk yield for Hariana breed in the state. The cow's owner Balwant Singh had told TOI that he had given better fodder to the cattle.



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