Hyderabad, Nov 12th: The Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yatra which reached Andhra Pradesh yesterday would tour several places in the state as part of its nation-wide yatra to raise awareness among the people on the protection of cow and bring prosperity to the Indian villages and will conduct a big public meeting in the city on November 15. Talking to newspersons here on Thursaday, Andhra Pradesh unit President of Gou Grama Yatra CH Uma Maheswara Rao said the yatra, which commenced on September 30 (Vijaya Dashami Day) at the historic battlefield of Kurukshetra, would traverse through the several places in the country covering 20,000 km.

During its 108-day journey, a number of 'upa Yatras' would commence from villages, taluk, district and state centres, he said, adding millions of people would participate in signature campaign calling for the end of cruelty to cow and to declare it as a national animal. He said it was a matter of great concern that the Indian indigenous cow, an invaluable gift from the nature, was at the verge of extinction. Only thirty-three breeds out of the hundreds of varieties were surviving today and there was a dire need to save and protect them, he said, adding the main object of the yatra was to create awareness among the people on the importance of cow and a massive national movement to restore freedom for it so that it could live and die with dignity.