UP govt to give cows to the families with malnourished children | Check details here
The Uttar Pradesh government is going to provide cows to the families of malnourished children under the 'Poshan Abhiyan' campaign. The move aims at eliminating malnourishment from the state by ensuring that children are getting milk. 'Poshan Abhiyan' campaign was launched last month by the PM Modi.
As per the order issued to all district magistrates of the state by Bhuvnesh Kumar, Principal Secretary animal husbandry department, an amount of 30 rupees per day will also be given through direct bank transfer to the family for taking care of the cow.
Only the families willing to adopt them and who have space too will be provided cows. Families will also have the option to chose a cow themselves from the cow shelter. The cows will be handed over to the family in the presence of a public representative as far as possible.
The state government has asked the Department of Women and Child Development to make a list of families willing to adopt cows under the campaign.
Will this move make a difference?
India faces a dire challenge of malnourishment among the children. Proper nutrition is essential for the growth of the body and mind. The Mid-day meal scheme is one of the finest examples of how India deals with malnourishment among children. With the present ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the schools are closed, and online classes have taken over. The problem of malnourishment is rising because of the unavailability of mid-day meals in most cases. Protein is an essential building block for physical growth among the children. India is a dairy dependent country for the protein source, and the move to ensure the children are getting enough milk and its products by providing them with cows is a step in the right direction.
Uttar Pradesh also faces a problem of a high population of stray cows who are dependent upon state-controlled shelters for their welfare. The move to provide them as adoption to the needy family will also solve two problems in one go.
The main problem that arises with the move to provide cows to families with malnourished children is that how will they sustain and care for cows at just 30 rupees per day as promised by the UP government.
