Govt promotes desi cow urine as immunity booster, docs rubbish it

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

The urine of desi cow can cure diseases. This is the Punjab Government’s new prescription to people. The government has so far been promoting Sahiwal cow milk.

A recent pamphlet circulated by the Department of Animal Husbandry apart from counting various economic and health benefits of rearing Sahiwal cow, which is considered Punjab’s local breed, prescribes cow urine for better health. “Purified urine of Sahiwal cow helps enhances immunity among human beings and helps fight several diseases,” the pamphlet says.

The pamphlet also tells that the urine of Sahiwal cow also helps decrease acidic elements in common water ponds in villages.

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The pamphlet titled “Sahiwal: Pride of Punjab” carries logos of the Animal Husbandry Department, Punjab Livestock Development Board and the Sahiwal Cattle Society. It has been published by Prem Kumar Uppal, adviser on animal husbandry to the Punjab Government. It also gives the slogan “Save desi cow”.

When contacted, Dr HS Sandha, Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, said as per the ayurvedic system of medicine, urine of desi cow is used for several treatments. “I am talking about only desi cow, not the foreign breeds,” he emphaised.

However, the doctors working with the department have called it nothing but rubbish. “The department is not a gaushala. It is a scientific institution and promotes scientific methods among people. How can we endorse the claims related to cow urine until it has gone under scientific scrutiny?” said Dr Ashok Kumar Sharma, president, Punjab State Veterinary Officers’ Association.

Even ayurvedic experts have reservations about the government’s endorsement of cow urine. “There is not much difference between the metabolism of buffaloes and cows, so the contents of their urine are similar. How beneficial it is  for human health is subject to scientific trials, which have not taken place so far. Now it has become fashionable to prescribe everything related to cows,” said Amritpal Singh, a Mohali-based herbal drug consultant, who have remained associated with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali.

Significantly, the state government on the directions of the CM is emphasising on the promotion of desi cow, especially the Sahiwal breed. Earlier the CM had announced different schemes, including building clusters for dairy farmers who were rearing Sahiwal. In December, the CM himself had directed Milkfed to sell Sahiwal’s milk under its brand name Verka. The plan, however, failed to see the light of day as no technology is available to certify if the milk supplied by farmers is of the desi or Holstein-Friesian cows.