Cow carer upset over visa, Sushma Swaraj steps in

A German national who was honoured with Padma Shri for cow protection this year has threatened to return her award after her application for visa extension was allegedly rejected. 

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday sought a report over the reported denial of visa extension to Friederike Irina Bruning. “Thanks for bringing this to my notice. I have asked for a report,” Swaraj tweeted. 

According to the media report, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected the visa extension application of Bruning, 61, for further stay in India, upsetting the cow activist. 

Burning, fondly called Sudevi Mataji, has been taking care of cows for the past 23 years. Currently, she shelters nearly 1,200 cows at her gaushala in Mathura. She is mother to several cows that are homeless, abandoned, sick, blind and badly injured.

She raises nearly Rs 22 lakh to run the cowshed, known as Surbhai Gauseva Niketan, by renting her property in Berlin. The money is spent to on medicine, food, grains and staff salaries.

Earlier, the activist had said that she needed to renew her visa every year as she would lose the rentals from her German property if she took Indian citizenship. However, she had said she would be happy to get a long-term visa.

There were nearly 122 million cows in the country, according to the 19th Livestock Census conducted in 2014. That year, the government had said in Parliament that there were about 3,030 gaushalas in India. 

Financial assistance provided to gaushalas are covered under the grassland development category of the National Bovine Mission, it had said.

A LIFE DEDICATED TO COWS

• Friederike Irina Bruning has been taking care of cows for the past 23 years. She now shelters 1,200 bovines at her Mathura cowshed  
   
• Burning raises over Rs 22 lakh a month by renting her property in Germany to meet the expenses at her cowshed