By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 3 Dec: In Uttarakhand, the honorarium given to those who adopt destitute bovine animals is the highest compared to other states in the country. It is Rs 80 per animal per day. Despite this, to completely end the problem of destitute bovine animals on the roads, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi has instructed the Secretary, Urban Development, to review and monitor the number of destitute bovine animals found on the roads in urban areas by the municipalities every month and make arrangements to send them to the Gaushalas.
In the meeting related to the construction of Gaushalas of the Uttarakhand Animal Welfare Board held in the Secretariat, today, CS Raturi instructed the Urban Development Department to complete the construction of 36 Gaushalas to be established in urban areas soon. The Urban Development Department has identified land for 36 Gaushalas in 13 districts of the state and the construction work of 13 Gaushalas is in progress. The Chief Secretary has also directed the Panchayati Raj Department to start the construction work on 26 Gaushalas to be set up in the rural areas of the state soon. For this, an amount of Rs 10 crore has already been released to the department. In this regard, the work of land identification has been completed by the Panchayati Raj Department.
Emphasizing on the use of modern technology and IT in the long-term solution of the problem of destitute bovine animals, Chief Secretary Raturi ordered mandatory geotagging of all bovine animals in the state as well as data analysis related to the age, medical and other information of each in the app and dashboard to be launched soon in this regard. She described the Gausevak Yojana as important in the care of destitute animals and sought its maximum expansion.
Giving strict instructions for continuous monitoring of the operation and maintenance of the cow shelters under construction and already operational, Raturi sought adequate arrangements of fodder, straw, light, security and medicines for the cows at the cow shelters. She has also instructed for regular inspection of the cow shelters.
It has been stated by the Uttarakhand Animal Welfare Board that the number of stray animals in the state at present is 20,887.
On this occasion, Secretaries Dr BVRC Purushottam, Nitesh Jha, Chandresh Kumar, V Shanmugam and officials of the departments concerned were present.
