Ex-agri officer caring for elders turns a cow lover

TIRUCHY: After the entry of the jersey breed cow, the indigenous cattle had become almost a thing of the past a few years ago. But, people understood the nutrient content in the milk of indigenous cattle and the fascination towards raising them have been increasing rapidly, said M Natarajan, former Executive Engineer of Agriculture Engineering department.

Natarajan, who has been running an old age home at Thillaiyambur village near Kumbakonam as a service, has been taking care of around 25 rare varieties of indigenous cows in addition.

“We purchased milk for our aged inmates from outside but they were not to our expected level and thus, I got an idea to establish a shed for cows for milk. Later I thought of having indigenous breed alone in that shed,” says Natarajan.

To achieve this, he travelled the length and breadth of the country and brought several rare breed of cows. Now, his shed is filled with varieties like Umbalacherry, Manapparai Sevalai, Congridge, Gir and Sahiwal from Gujarat, Punganur Kuttai from Andhra Pradesh.

Among these breeds, Congridge gives 9 litre per day while Gir gives 12 litres and Sahiwal 7 litres a day. The others give three to five litres, he said.

Natarajan said unlike the jersey breed, rearing indigenous cattle would cost less. “These cows rarely fall sick and recover fast,” he said and added that the nutrient in the milk from the indigenous cattle is high.