Varanasi, Feb 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that empowering women and making them economically and socially strong was the top priority of his government.

PM Modi was interacting with women dairy entrepreneurs during a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh.

During the conversation, the women informed PM Modi about the benefits of rearing indigenous breeds of Gir cows and the advantages they have gained from it.

The women said that ever since they started rearing Gir cows, there have been significant positive changes in their lives as they sell the milk to Amul Dairy and that has increased their income.

The women added that they had achieved a degree of economic independence and were no longer dependent on others for their personal expenses.

The women also mentioned using cow dung as organic fertiliser in their fields.

They said that using this fertiliser had increased the fertility of their fields and the produce from their crops was more, which had also augmented their family income.

Consequently, they have now reduced the use of chemical fertilisers in their fields and this has given them a dual advantage: They are saving the money they would have spent on chemical fertilisers and they were getting nutritious, chemical-free produce from the crops in their fields.

Some women said that using the milk of Gir cows had also relieved them of many diseases and their medical expenses had decreased.

The women expressed their intention to rear Gir cows on a larger scale.

PM Modi encouraged the women to move forward and assured them of all possible support.

/IANS