Gau Sambardhana

You must have heard about many beauty contests, but have you ever heard about beauty contest for cows!!! Sounds funny, but that is true. Recently in the village of Dadingia in Kandhamal, Odisha, a beauty contest was held amongst roughly 100 cows and three of them were adjudicated as the winners.

Around a year back, we had started a cow donation initiative in the Kandhamaal district in Odisha in an effort to bring peace in the troubled region. We had also organized many traning camps to help the villagers take proper care about their cows. In addition, there were training camps on organic farming too. The effort has paid a rich dividend with many families getting some source of income through the cows and farm products.

As a token of appreciation and encouragement, an event was conducted under the banner “Gau Sambardhana Mela” – “Cow Felicitation Programme”.

The event, patronized by Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, was attended by around 500 persons from various villages of Kandhamaal. Additional District Veteriniary Officer of Kandhamaal Sri Susanta Nayak, Veterinary surgeon Dr Debasis Mohanty, Director of Gau Vigyan Kendra Sri Pravat Panigrahi and many other dignitaries addressed the gathering. During the event, participants were felicitated under following four categories, Gau Sambrudhhi (Prosperity of cows), Gau Palaka (Care of cows), Gau Sundari (Beauty of cows) and Bhumi Mitra (Organic farming).

Following is the list of people who were felicitated during the event.

Gau Sambrudhi

Raman Pradhan, Sudhipada, Katingia

Siyabana Pradhan, Danga danda

Awsapati Pradhan, Sinduragada

 

Gau  Palaka

Chandra Shaker Pradhan, Biarapanga

Goutam Pradhan, Malahupanga

Chakradhar Pradhan, Badapata

 

Gau Sundari

Madhabachandra Pradhan, Dadingia

Lete Pradhan, Gadringia

Samanta Pradhan, Gamandi

Bhumi Mitra (Organic Cultivation)

Brundaban Pradhan, Sudhipada

Kaleswar Pradhan, Naudimaha

Jayachandra Pradhan, Tatamaha

@Raikia on 12-Mar-2011

The third event on cow donation drive was held on March 12, 2011 in Raikia. It was attended by around 50 people from nearby villages. 13 cows were donated to the beneficiaries during this function. The total cost incurred for this function was Rs 51754/-. With the conclusion of this event, a total of 44 cows have been donated in last 3 months.


The list of beneficiaries are (Name, Village)

1. Santosh Pradhan (Sudhipada)
2. Brundavan Pradhan (Bijikama)
3. Sanatan Pradhan (Katingia)
4. Devendra Pradhan (Rushiguda)
5. Sudhir Pradhan (Retudi)
6. Khageswar Pradhan (Bududipada)
7. Kamraj Digal (Mandasar)
8. Krutivas Pradhan (Bradinadu)
9. Durjyodhan Pradhan (Majumaha)
10. Sanapati Pradhan (Munagudu)
11. Pradumna Pradhan (Betikala)
12. Nayan Pradhan (Nirungia)
13. Saroj Pradhan (Sitayeju)

It's our firm conviction that cows can transform the life of locals and bring them a better future. With a good number of cows in the neighborhood, we will soon have enough cow-dunk to start with small scale methane-gas plants. This would also help us save nearby forest. The cow-dunk manure will also provide an impetus to the organic farming, which is slowly gaining popularity in this region. In a few years time we might see a greener area around this region.

@Raikia on 14-Feb-2011

https://picasaweb.google.com/gaudaana/EventRaikia
The cow donation drive has gone into full swing and the second event was held on February 14, 2011 in Raikia. We witnessed a gathering of more than 150 villagers from nearby villages. 19 cows were distributed in the event. To streamline the cow donation drive, we have hired one coordinator who would be responsible for sourcing the cows and getting feedback from the beneficiaries. This would help us in pushing our drive further.

The cows were distributed to following persons. (Name, Village)

1. Abinash Pradhan, Bakingia
2. Aravinda Pradhan, Gudakia 
3. Balamukunda Pradhan, Bakingia  
4. Bijay Pradhan, Tekapanga
5. Biswanath Pradhan, DandaPanga 
6. Brundaban Pradhan, Khalangakrupa  
7. Dambaru Pradhan, Patali sahi
8. Dharmaraj Pradhan, Bakingia 
9. Dillip Pradhan, Sishapanga
10. Ghanashyam Pradhan, Ketilikia 
11. Gokula Pradhan, Dumudu
12. Gopinatha Pradhan, GundaMaha  
13. Kamadev Pradhan, Pisidima
14. Mishra Pradhan, Gandachada
15. Panchanan Pradhan, Pisidima 
16. Pratap Pradhan, GundaMaha
17. Purnachandra Pradhan, Mahupanga  
18. Somanath Pradhan, Gamadei  
19. Tisipatra Pradhan,  Sishapanga 

Total cost of this event was Rs 89,957/- which includes cost for 19 cows, the transportation and fodder. It also includes the salary of Rs1,500/- paid to the full-time coordinator.

It is really encouraging to see 31 cows being distributed within a span of 1 month. Thanks to all our patrons for their kind support. We look forward to get more support from you.

Please send us your feedback at gaudaana@gmail.com.

@Pajigalu on 16-Jan-2011

https://picasaweb.google.com/gaudaana/EventPajigalu
First event of cow donation drive 'Gaudaana' was conducted in Pajigalu of Raikia block, Kandhamaal on Jan 16, 2011. The function was attended by around 180 people from nearby villages. A total of 12 cows were distributed to as many families from 8 villages of Raikia block. Fodder for 2 months were also provided. Dr Debashish Mohanty, Veterinary surgeon in Raikia, who was also present during the event has agreed to provide trainings on the maintenance of the cows.


 Following people were donated a cow each during this event.

1. Abalakar Pradhan, Gardingia
2. Antarmayi Pradhan, Pajigalu
3. Bijay Pradhan, Bakingia
4. Binara Pradhan, Mandakia
5. Debaraj Pradhan, Tata maha
6. Leza Pradhan, Pajigalu
7. Padma Charan Pradhan, Pajigalu
8. Papa Pradhan, Bakingia
9. Sabitra Pradhan, Bakingia
10. Sanjay Pradhan, Gaudakia
11. Tarani Pradhan, Jagargi naja
12. Ugrasen Pradhan,  Kamba gida

Total expenditure for this event was Rs 54,987 (for 12 cows, including expenses incurred for transport, fodder, event organization and training).

All this was possible because of the generosity shown by you. We look forward to more contribution from you and your friends for this movement.

We will keep you updated about further events at this blog.

Gaudaana - Initiative

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, (http://visakeo.blogspot.com/2008/08/vedanta-keshari-swami-laxmanananda.html) a pioneer of social reforms, worked for the downtrodden tribals in Kandhamaal for four decades (1970-2008). His vision of life was to improve the quality of their living through cow-oriented farming. He also formed several cooperative societies to help them get better value for their products.

After his death, the turbulent environment has put the tribal people under tremendous financial stress. Sadly the government and international aids are not reaching them. We thought of going ahead with some rehabilitation program following the life principles of Swamiji.

Cow is the lifeline of Indian village family. Hence we plan to donate 2 milking cows to the families with the hope of providing some sustenance to their livelihood. In this way we can help them get back to mainstream and regain confidence in our social system.

Financial details of the program:

• Cost for each cow is around Rs. 7500/- (including fodder for 2 months.)
• The donations are entitled for tax exemption under section 80G.

We request you to be a part of this noble movement and earn punya of Gau-daana.

For any queries, please drop a mail at gaudaana@gmail.com. We would be happy to hear from you.