Farmers from villages located in vicinity of the famous Saibaba shrine in Ahmed Nagar district have been feeding the leftover and waste food to their cattle instead of regular fodder, the exercise they claim to have significantly brought down their annual expenses.
"Farmers from villages around the shrine in the district are saving close to Rs one crore annually by feeding waste food to their cattle instead of regular animal food", said Shirdi Saibaba Trust Executive Officer Ajay More.
The farmers collect leftover from dishes of devotees at 'Prasadalaya' and from hotels in the town, he added.
On an average 35,000 devotees take "prasad" at the facility daily.
"Many farmers from villages like Rahata, Astagaon, Nandurkhi etc. Gather the leftover food and feed it to cattle. I guess we collectively are saving close to Rs one crore (annually) by adopting this practice", said Nanasaheb Katkar, a farmer.
Shirdi town has more than 150 hotels and on-an-average 40,000 people eat their daily.
Animal Husbandry Officer S M Sanap, however, cautioned that the practice could adversely affect health of the cattle, especially if they are not used to this kind of diet.
