A buffalo named Yuvraj has turned out to be the star attraction in the ongoing fishery and dairy festival (Matsya-Pranee Samavesh) in Bhubaneswar that kicked off on Friday.

The 1,500kg buffalo has come from Kurukshetra, Haryana, on the invitation of the Odisha government to send the message among the farmers about the need to rear good quality buffaloes to increase milk production in the state.

Agriculture and farmers’ empowerment and fisheries and animal resources development minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said: “We want to encourage farmers to go for good quality of farming so they can earn good money by selling milk. The buffalo has been brought to show how farmers of other states are getting good quality milk by rearing good quality buffaloes.”

Dairy farmers, cattle semen traders and institutions come to buy its semen for artificial insemination of their buffaloes.

Its female offspring are also sold at Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh each varying on their height and weight. They provide up to 20 to 25 litres of milk every day.

Nashib, the caretaker of the Yuvraj said: “The semen of Yuvraj has a high market demand. After every three days, we get 600 doses of semen from Yuvraj. In a month, approximately, we get 6,000 doses of semen. If we sell one dose of semen at Rs 300, it comes to around Rs 18 lakh per month. A huge profit.”

He said: “We preserve them in a special container using modern technology and later send them to different parts of India using our business network. The buffaloes produced by the semen of Yuvraj are giving 20 to 30 litres of milk per day. It’s a benefit for the farmers.”

The 5’8” tall Yuvraj, whenever cranes his neck, its head touched seven feet or more. He is 17 feet long and three-and-a-quarter feet wide. “Yuvraj is the father of at least 5 lakh buffaloes. We need to remember that each semen does not result in baby buffaloes,” the caretaker said.

Yuvraj, the clean saved buffalo, is staying in a well-arranged makeshift tent and is being taken care of by six people. Like a wrestler, the bull is massaged with oil almost every day.

Hailing from the indigenous Murrah breed, the 12-year-old buffalo’s royal looks and shiny black skin attracted the visitors.

Nasib said “Yuvraj is the prince. He lives like a prince and goes for saving every day. We used to take care of her. The Yuvaraj eats wheat, gram, maize, jaggery, jowar, oilcakes and other types of fodders worth Rs 5000 every day that includes 10 to 15 litres of milk.”

Yuvraj, is a product of Yograj and Ganga. While Yograj still survives at the age of 26, Ganga has died. “The doctors say a domesticated buffalo can survive till the age of 20. But Yugraj is fine at the age of 26 and capable of producing semen”

The caretaker said that they had around 85 buffalos and it’s running in huge profit. On being asked about what would be the price of Yuvaraj, the caretaker got irritated.

“He is our son and is feeding us. How can we sell? Even people have offered Rs 9 crore to buy Yuvaraj we won’t. Our Lala (owner) refused to sell.”