Chhattisgarh: Guarding cow dung was never so precious until Mantu Ram Kashyap and his wife did it with full dedication. Residing in Kutru village, Kashyap and his wife take turns keeping an eye on the dung during the night. The waste from his cattle- is after all wealth for the cattle keeper.

Desiring to gain benefits from the scheme introduced by the Baghel govt, the duo guard the cow dung to sell them at the price quoted. The Baghel govt in 2020 under the Gordhan Nyay Yojana launched a revolutionary scheme to help cattle bearers to reap benefits from the dung.

The state govt procures cow dung from sellers at Rs 2 per kg, becoming the first state in the state and globally to buy cow dung. Under this scheme, Kashyap has earned around Rs 28,000 which he utilized to repair his home. The couple reportedly had a leaking ceiling during the rainy season. Besides Kashyap around 211,450 cattle owners of the state reap the benefits from the scheme.

So far the state govt has bought 7.35 million quintals of cow dung paying around Rs 147.06 crore to the Gauthan committees in charge of the sale.