Five Stray Cows Die in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli
Image for representational use only. Image Courtesy : The Indian Express
At a time when Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has been spending a lot of money on cow welfare and pushing forward its cow and Hindutva agenda in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While it has allocated Rs 447 crore for cow protection, the situation on the ground is getting worse day by day, and government has miserably failed in tackling this issue so far.
In Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, five stray cows lodged at a temporary shelter home have died allegedly of cold, an official said on Saturday. The deaths were reported from a shelter home in Tajpur Simbhalka village. Sub-divisional magistrate Prashant Kumar told PTI that an inquiry has been initiated.
Speaking with Newsclick, Avnish Kumar, Gram Pradhan (village head), said, "There were 26 stray cows in the shelter house, from which five had died on Thursday evening due to the cold. Rest 21 cows ran away from the shelter home, even though the condition of the shelter home is good, and veterinary doctors visit regularly."
While presenting its third budget of Rs 4.79 lakh crore for the financial year 2019-20, the Yogi government has allocated Rs 447 crore for cow protection, of which Rs 247 crore is for maintenance and construction of Gaushalas (cow shelters) in rural areas, and Rs 200 crore for Kanha Gaushala and Destitute Cattle Shelter Scheme in urban areas. Notably, the state government has also levied a cow protection cess on the revenue of various departments including the excise.
Recently, three cows have died in four days due to improper management in Naya Gaon Mubarakpur of Hardoi district. The dead cows were lying in a decomposed state for few days, Newsclick had reported.
According to The Indian express report, over 60 stray cattle including cows and calves have died due to the cold and weakness in Tappla area of Aligarh. It happened when police had transported 1800 cattle to a cow shelter.
In Agra, two cows were found dead in cow shelter due to starvation. An official told a news channel that there was dearth of fodder and many cows injured too.
Commenting over the issue, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi told Newsclick, "BJP's love for cow is an eyewash. They are neither interested in protecting cows nor in solving the problems of the stray cattle faced by the farmers.”
Read more: Reports of Cow Deaths Pour in as Stray Cattle Menace Grows in UP
Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
