The state government of Uttar Pradesh in India is launching an ambulance service for cows, the first such service in India's history. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath's government took the decision to spare seriously ill cows the ordeal of being taken to hospital, NDTV reported.

The state's minister for dairy development, animal husbandry and fisheries, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, said on 15 November local time that 515 ambulances had already been prepared for cows. He said this was probably the first step in the country to launch an ambulance service for cows.

Speaking to journalists in Mathura, he said 112 emergency service numbers are being introduced. The new service will ensure quick treatment for seriously ill cows. Each ambulance will carry a veterinary doctor and two assistants, who will reach a sick cow within 15 to 20 minutes of receiving a call.

The minister said the state's cattle development programme will be sped up by providing quality bull semen free of charge and by using embryo transfer technology. He said embryo transfer technology will start a new revolution in the state, because through it even cows unable to give birth to calves will be able to give much more milk.

Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said that once the project is running, the number of ownerless cows wandering the streets will fall, as farmers will not want to abandon a cow that gives at least 20 litres of milk a day.

The project is due to start in December. A call centre is also reportedly being set up in Lucknow to take reports of sick cows. The project will first be launched in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Mathura. Earlier, Yogi Adityanath's government approved funds for the first time to provide cowsheds for ownerless cows.

Citing Anandabazar.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.