Cow urine to be used as disinfectant in government-run Rajasthan hospital

One of the biggest government-run hospital in northern India, Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh (SMS), is considering replacing phenyl with cow urine as a disinfectant, according to reports.

Following the directions of state health minister Rajendra Rathore, the SMS hospital administration is all set to test the effectiveness of ‘Gau Clean’, a swadeshi disinfectant manufactured by a trust that runs a ‘gau mutra’ (cow urine) refinery at Pathmeda in Sirohi district.

SMS hospital superintendent Dr Man Prakash Sharma said, “We have constituted a committee of three doctors which will test the effectiveness of the ‘gau mutra’ disinfectant.” The committee set up to evaluate the effect of Gau Clean will analyse its effectiveness in areas like the ICU, hospital floor and on medical equipment.

Rajasthan’s minister of Gaupalan (cow-rearing) department Otaram Dewasi told a leading daily, “Our primary aim is to find out how cow can become a source of income. If we want people to keep cow, then it should also earn some revenue. At Pathmeda gaushala, the researchers are trying to make products from cow urine so that it could become a source of income.”

He said once the ‘effectiveness’ of the disinfectant manufactured in Pathmeda is tested at the SMS hospital, the government will take the next step. “Once ‘Gau Clean’ gets the licence from the Ayurveda department, it can be used in other government offices, buildings and even people will buy it from the market,” Dewasi added.