Manoj Kumar, Patna. There are 19.25 crore cows across the country. Bihar has 7.95% of the total number of cows in the country. That means the number of cows in Bihar is 1.54 crore. But, among these, there are very few cows of the original breed of Bihar. Only hybrid breed and cows brought from other states are found in Bihar. Bihar ranks fourth in the country in terms of number of cows. But, only two original breed of cows are left in the entire state. These two breeds of cows, Purnia and Bachaur, are now the original breeds of Bihar. At present, the people of Bihar are drinking the milk of hybrid breed cows brought from other states.
The remaining original breed is also on the verge of extinction
Cow of Purnia breed will be found at some places in Purnia, Araria, Katihar, Madhepura, Kishanganj, Supaul. Bachaur breed of cow is found only in the areas of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and Madhubani. The number of cows of these two breeds will be around one to one and a half thousand. If they are not conserved, these breeds will also become extinct. Gangatiri breed of cow was found in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but now this cow is not found in Bihar. It is of medium size. It gives an average of 900-1200 liters of milk per lactation. Its milk contains 4.1-5.2 percent fat content.
Abundance of cows in Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan
There are many other indigenous breeds in India including Sahiwal, Gir, Tharparkar and Red Sindhi which have been registered with the Indian Animal Genetic Institute Bureau. According to the Indian Animal Genetic Institute Bureau, there are 43 types of indigenous breed of cows in our country. Bihar is full of cows from Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan. There is abundance of Sahiwal of Punjab, Tharparkar of Rajasthan and Gir breed of Gujarat cows here. This year, cows of these breeds are also being purchased in the state and brought to Bihar under government grant. Due to the large quantity of milk they produce, their demand is high.
Bihar ahead in milk production
Bihar is ahead of the national average in milk production. Milk is being produced in Bihar at the rate of 7.3%, whereas the national average is only 5.29%. Per capita availability of milk in Bihar is 400 grams. Whereas the national average is 444 grams. In this too, Bihar is soon moving towards becoming a surplus milk state by surpassing the national average.
Native breeds will be protected: Director
Cow director Sanjay Kumar said that Bachaur and Purnia are the only two original breeds of cows left in Bihar. It is also sporadic at some places. These will be conserved and promoted. A program for this will be ready soon.