The Times of India, Jaipur: Friday, 11 January 2008: Jaipur retails cow dung cakes: After cow urine or ‘Gau mutra’, packaged cow dung cakes are now available in the shelves along with toiletries and groceries at retail stores in the Pink City. Marketing of cow dung cakes or ‘kanda’ is the brainchild of city-based organization, Gau Sena, which literally translated means ‘cow army’. Gau Sena has launched the product under brand ‘Gau var’ in Jaipur. The product is a mixture of cow dung and other ingredients. When burnt, it purifies the environment, claims the Gau Sena. The cake also helps keep diseases at bay, the organization claims. Gau Sena chief Sandeep Gupta said: “The objective of launching packaged cow dung cakes is for the welfare of Cows. Proceeds from sale of the product will be spent for welfare of cattle.” Cow dung cake is manufactured at Shri Ramdev Gaushala Samiti at Bagru. “People abandon cows on roads if they stop giving milk, but if they can earn some money from cow dung, they will not let them loose,” Gupta said. The product is a mixture of cow dung, Ganga water, cow urine, rose water, cow milk, ‘havan samagri’ (items used in fire worship), rose petals, rice, clove, cardamom, guggal’, camphor, butter, sawdust of mango tree, ‘itra’ (essence), extract of tulsi, sandalwood powder and sand from the feet of sacred cows. Each 100-gram cake costs Rs 21. “We have already received orders worth Rs 20 lakh from Jaipur-based people and organizations,” Gupta said. Cow dung or ‘gobar’ is primarily used as a fertiliser in India and also used as fuel. It is also used to generate electricity through biogas plants. “In villages, cow dung is used to line the floor and walls of buildings as it has insect repellent properties. It is also used as a thermal insulator in cold areas,” Gupta said. Experts say cow dung has excellent mosquito repellent properties and is used by many companies to produce repellents. Modern science acknowledges that smoke from burning cow dung is a powerful disinfectant and an anti-pollutant. Cow urine is also used for religious rituals and in medicines.