Mysuru: Do not be astonished if you see cattle grazing on the beautiful lush lawns at Abdul Nazir Sab State Institute of Rural Development (ANSSIRD) on Lalitha Mahal Road here, as they are just life size realistic models of cattle which has come alive on a vast area adjacent to the institute’s hostel in the premises.

These finely crafted models are so realistic that even the rib cage of buffaloes and veins of oxen are visible and one can mistake it to real cattle. These models were part of the exhibits at the cowshed installed at the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department during Dasara expo last year.

Institute’s Deputy Director Dr. G.S. Ganesh Prasad, speaking to Star of Mysore, said that when they visited the RDPR stall at the Dasara expo last year, they were really astonished to see the life size models of oxen and buffaloes in the stall and when they enquired, they came to know that it was made from a mixture of cement and other materials by an artist in Gadag.

Dr. Ganesh said that after the expo came to an end, they approached Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H.K. Patil to give the models of the cattle to them as it would help them to create a Rural Technology Park in the institute.

He said that as many elected representatives and officials come to the institute for training, these life size realistic models would enhance the training ambience, which would help the trainers train the trainees in a better way.

He said that the RDPR Minister, after seeing their interest, asked them to shift the models from the Dasara exhibition premises to the institute.

Soon, a crane was brought to the Dasara expo grounds to transport the cattle models to the Institute and the heavy realistic models were transported to the Institute, Dr. Ganesh said and added that after getting the landscape done on the vast space near the hostel building, a crane was again summoned to the Institute and with its help placed the models at various spots on the vast area.

Dr. Ganesh said that there are plans to showcase many technologies such as low cost housing and Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant for drinking water, for the benefit of the trainees in the Rural Technology Park.

Speaking about the maintenance of these models, Dr. Ganesh said that the models would be given a fresh coat of paint once a year as these models are exposed to the vagaries of nature.

When asked if people had mistook these realistic models for real cattle, he said that there were instances when elected representatives and officials who had come for training, had asked the gardeners to shoo away the cattle as they tend to destroy the lawns. The institute, which was granted an autonomous status on July 4, 2016, will be celebrating its first anniversary next month.