LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday gifted cows to 11 families who have malnourished children. This will serve a dual purpose — preserving cows and providing nourishment to under-nourished children.
Under ‘Sahbhagita Yojana’ (co-participation scheme), the UP government has been giving Rs 900 every month to a person who volunteers to take care of stray cattle.
As many as 66,257 cows have been given under the scheme, out of which 1,071 cows have been distributed among 1,069 families having malnourished children.
“The festival of ‘Gopashtami’ has served as an inspiration to all of us towards our enhanced responsibility towards cows,” Yogi said at a programme at a cow shelter at Tanda Fall in Mirzapur district. He said that there were more than five lakh cows in various cow shelters at present and more than 65,000 cows have already been given to farmers.
The CM also expressed his happiness on PM Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone for Rs 5,555 crore drinking water scheme for about 2,995 villages in two districts of Sonbhadra and Mirzapur in Vindhyachal region on the occasion of Gopashtami.
Yogi said the rural women through Self Help Groups (SHGs) and voluntary organisations have done remarkable work in making school uniforms and distributing ration and nutritious food under various government schemes.
“The government is committed to make women self-reliant because women empowerment is absolutely necessary to bring about positive change in society,” he said.