Strange jobs in the country favor cattle waste

Cow urine collection is the job that brings income for many people in India. In this country, the price of cow urine is higher than milk.

With a large aluminum basin in hand, Susheela Kumari walked quickly behind more than two dozen cows in a barn on the outskirts of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India. She always had to be ready every time a cow whipped its tail or shrugged its hind legs down, a sign that they were about to urinate, Bloomberg described.

Urine of cows is higher than Indian milk (from 1.2 to 1.5 USD per liter). So Kumari's boss did not want to miss a single drop. She and two other people had to work day and night in the stable, which was about 80km east of the capital of New Delhi to get about half of the 15 to 20 liters of urine that the cows emitted every day.

Hindus regard Bos indicus cows , an endemic breed in India, sacred animals and their urine is their favorite. Bos Indicus cows' urine became an attractive product mainly thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has implemented animal protection programs to create milk and support their waste disposal industries over the past two years. .

Susheela Kumari works as a collector in the farm of urine in Bulandshahr city, Uttar Pradesh state, India.(Photo: Bloomberg).

Modi's government spends about 5.8 billion rupees ($ 87 million) on barn construction activities, strengthening the ban on beef consumption and tightening measures to stop smuggling cows to neighboring Bangladesh. .

"People can make 30 home remedies by themselves with cow urine. Our biggest goal is to bring this precious solution to rural people," said Sunil Mansinghka, the coordinator of the group. Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra cattle research organization in Nagpur, said.

"Getting cow urine is the hardest thing because you can't know when they're going to urinate. Workers must speculate from cow's movements and try to identify each child's urination habits , " Vikash Chandra Gupta , who cooperated with Bulandshahar cow farm from last year to start a cow urine business.

Workers put the pungent odor into a crude distillation tank to remove impurities before processing them into powder or liquid form for sale to healers.

Baha Ramdev, a businessman known for his passion for Yoga in India, is one of the most active buyers of cow urine. He spends 150,000 rupees a day on cow urine and ingredients for his company to produce soaps, disinfectants and pharmaceuticals. Baha's consumer goods empire is fiercely competing with world-famous brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever and Nestle.

Baha's " most expensive" product is Gaunyle floor cleaner from cow urine. "We prepare 20 tons of Gaunyle solution every day but still cannot meet the needs of customers," said Acharya Balkrishna, the Baha company manager.

Workers processing cow urine in a factory of Beef Urine Therapy Medical Center in Indore city, India.(Photo: Bloomberg).

Processors of traditional medicine in India claim that urine (or local "gomutra" ) of cows contains substances that can treat diseases and bring many health benefits. In June scientists from Junagadh Agricultural University in Gujarat state in India discovered the gold element in the urine of the cows belonging to Gir like after analyzing 400 samples.

Indian public debate is about whether urine and cow's byproducts can cause illness. Professor Navneet Dhand, an epidemiologist and veterinary specialist at the University of Sydney in Australia, points out that three diseases are common in cows that humans can infect if they use cow urine. They include leptospirosis (causing meningitis and liver failure), brucellosis (causing arthritis), Q-fever (causing chronic pneumonia and heart inflammation).

Despite the controversy of public opinion, the Center for Therapeutic Urine Health in Indore city, India still buys 25,000 liters of cow urine every month from more than a dozen farms. Virendar Kumar Jain, who founded the center, said he provided drugs from cow urine to 1.2 million patients over the past two decades to treat a wide range of illnesses, from cancer to diabetes.

"My employees receive online orders of 4,000 patients every day. Consumers also buy products through e-commerce sites like Amazon , " Jain said.