"Those who go to the Rural Development Office... return disillusioned because the cows and gaushalas are not on the priority list of the district authorities," Braj Bachao Samiti president Manoj Choudhary said.

The district was declared a 'Goshala Kshetra' or cow-shelter region by Commissioner Bhatnagar.

The Gaushala owners also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) Andra Vamsi demanding arrangement of fodder at subsidised rates for the 20,000 odd cows and they had faced a shortage of good quality fodder.

However, Vamsi said, the government was already giving subsidy on gobar gas plants and goshala owners should take measures to convert cow dung into precious compost manure and market it to increase incomes.

"We are soon going to send 15-20 farmers to learn techniques of arid region farming at the National Institute in Hyderabad. The local farmers should know how to cope with problem of hard water, brackish water and what techniques to adopt to face water scarcity," Vamsi told Samiksha Bharti News Service.

Tej Pal Singh, an NGO functionary, said "the problem of domestic waste could be solved at the source if vermi-compost units were set up in all the villages. The manure produced by the earth worms now commands an attractive price and has a big market. Farmers need to be encouraged since the raw material is locally available.