Items made of cow dung in great demand

Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 11

Covid times coupled with increased awareness on products made of cow dung have led to a rise in the demand for eco-friendly diyas, pots and idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi this Diwali. Due to the increasing demand, some gaushalas have even fallen short of supply.

Surbhi Kunj, a private gaushala in Kaimbwala, has already supplied 21,000 diyas and 5,000 pots, all made of cow dung. The diyas are priced at Rs2 each while pots in sizes of 3 to 6 inches are sold between Rs10 and Rs20 per piece.

“We are sending diyas and pots to different districts of Punjab and various social organisations. We are refusing orders because we will not be able to ensure the supply,” said Ankur Mittal, a gausevak.

Subodh Nair, who runs the Kaimbwala gaushala, said cow dung-made items were environment-friendly and its products could be used as manure later. “If a plant is grown in this pot, it will automatically get manure from all sides and will grow better. Plastic pots are not good for environment,” he said.

He said pots were made using a machine operated with hands, which involved an investment of about Rs10,000-Rs15,000 only.

At Gauri Shankar Seva Dal Gaushala in Sector 45, along with diyas, idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi were also being made and distributed free of cost for awareness.

“Due to Covid, demand for Indian products has increased. We have made about 25,000 diyas, more than what we produced last year, and nearly 600 idols,” said Vinod Kumar, vice-president of the organisation. Sumit Sharma, chairman of the organisation, added, “Since these idols are eco-friendly, one can use these as manure after putting these in water for two days. These idols won’t even pollute rivers if immersed in them.”