BARIPADA: Ganeshwar Jena of Dutikadeipur village within Udala police limits, who had sold his only cow to buy a smartphone for his daughter so that she could attend school classes online, has got a new cow. The milch bovine was provided to him by Srikumar Mishra, the founder of India’s first dairy startup Milk Mantra recently.
Moved by the sacrifice of the 48-year-old man after going through his story in The New Indian Express on September 13, Mishra gifted a hybrid cow and a calf to him.
Ganeshwar had sold his only cow for `6,500 and arranged `2,000 from a relative to buy a smartphone for his daughter Kaushalya, a Class IX student of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya at Jualia. He could not see her daughter sit idle at home when other students attended classes on their phones.
Even as Kaushalya never asked him for a phone, Ganeshwar’s zeal to ensure his daughter does not miss on studies made him part with the cow, which used to provide some additional income to the poor household.
The unexpected gift filled the family with joy. The daily wager said he and his family will forever remain indebted to Mishra for his kind gesture.
He also thanked The New Indian Express for narrating his tale to the masses. The cow and the calf were delivered by Milk Mantra staff to Behera’s house on Saturday.
In a tweet, Mishra said, “We hope that our contribution will assist Ganeshwar to support his family better with an income stream & ensure that his daughter’s education is not impacted any further. Would like to thank the team at @XpressOdisha for highlighting this important story.”
The cow gives three litre milk in the morning and 2.5 litre in the evening, enough for Jena to earn `300 per day.
AGM, Sourcing of Milk Mantra Subrat Nayak said Ganeswar was given tips on taking care of the hybrid cow and her calf.