Cow Dung Paint

India now has its own cow dung paint. Among the country’s several innovative inventions, this unique paint certainly takes the cake. According to the Press Information Bureau, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME, launched the new paint. The paint has been developed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission at his residence.   What is it? The ‘Khadi Prakritik Paint’ is a first-of-its-kind product which is being touted as eco-friendly and non-toxic, with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. With actual cow dung as its main ingredient, the paint is said to be cost-effective and also odourless. It has also been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Khadi Prakritik Paint will be available in two forms- distemper and plastic emulsion.   What Are The Properties Of This Paint? Since the foundation of the paint is cow dung itself, there is no doubting the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal ability. Not to mention that it has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards which rules out the possibility of non-availability, bad odour, and harm.    The paint has two forms, namely, distemper and plastic emulsion. The former is a decorative paint in nature and needs a binder to be used effectively while the latter is water-based and gives a smooth matte finish after application.   Both the cases seem satisfactory based upon their constituents and functions. Also, the price has been set at Rs. 120 per litre and Rs. 225 per litre for distemper and emulsion respectively.   Furthermore, the paint has no hard metals which cause toxicity and thereby affect the environment hazardously. Lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium, etc, are the hard metals mentioned above.   Speaking at the launch event, Gadkari said “the step is aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision of increasing farmers’ income”, and that it is “part of an effort to improve the rural economy to such an extent that reverse migration begins from the cities to rural areas”.   According to PIB, the paints have been tested at three national laboratories: National Test House, Mumbai; Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research, New Delhi and National Test House, Ghaziabad.   “The paint has successfully passed various test parameters such as application of paint, thinning properties, drying time, and finish, among others. It dries in less than four hours and has a smooth and uniform finish. The paint can be applied to the interior as well as exterior walls. Both distemper and emulsion paints are available in the white base colour, and it can be developed in any colour by suitably mixing colourants,” the PIB statement said.

Kolkata- Drink urine of Indian cows at Rs 500 a litre and take the dung at Rs 500 a kilo to ensure immunity from the deadly novel Coronavirus, says a milk vendor who has set up his makeshift roadside shop to sell these bovine products in Dankuni, about 20 km from the West Bengal capital. Mabud Ali has placed packs of cow dung and jars of cow urine on a table by the National Highway 19 -- that links Delhi and Kolkata. Ali claims he got the idea from a gomutra (cow urine) party organised by the Hindu Mahasabha in Delhi. "Drink cow urine and ward off coronavirus," says a poster pasted to the table. "I have two cows -- one Indian cow and the other a jersey cow. I earn my living selling milk. So, after I saw the gomutra party on television, I realised I can make more profit by selling cow urine and dung. Now, I can utilise every part of cows in my business," said Ali. However, in Ali's stall, a litre of urine and a kilo of dung of the jersey cows come at a cheaper rate - Rs 300. "A Jersey cow is not a pure breed like Indian cow. So, its urine also is not that much in demand," he said. Ali said the initial response has been "good". "I'll try to continue this trade". (IANS) Read More - Kheer-puri, havan and gomutra -- to 'calm' corona