CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government is planning to get something unusual from across the border.
After Yuvraj, the 450 kg, 10-foot long and 5’ 8” tall grey-black bull of Sunarion village in Kurukshetra of Haryana grabbed headlines last year for its semen being sold for Rs 350 per dose, the neighbouring state to get semen of Nili Ravi and Sahiwal bulls from Pakistan to improve milk production and the genetic potential of the animals.
Punjab government is planning to get semen of Nili Ravi and Sahiwal bulls from Pakistan to improve milk production and the genetic potential of the animals.
“We sent a proposal to the Union government for being allowed to import the semen of Nili Ravi and Sahiwal breeds from Pakistan as before Independence they were most common breeds in the region,” said Sanjeev Khosla, deputy chief executive officer of Punjab Livestock Development Board (PLDB). “Their breeding quality is excellent and they produce good quality of milk.”
Nili Ravi breed gives of 25 litres of milk per day, while Sahiwal breed gives 15 litres.
A few bulls of Sahiwal are in Fazilka district of Punjab and of Nili Ravi in Amritsar district. “We will import the semen and use it in our national dairy breeding programme and produce bulls, and then use their semen to enhance these breeds,” said Khosla. Earlier, semen of exotic breeds from the US has been imported. The CEO of PLDB is in Brazil to study the Gill breed of of bulls as they are mostly found in Gujarat.
