By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 28 Feb: Opposition members raised the issue of a large number of stray cattle on roads in the state and said that the government had recently tabled a bill declaring cows as Gaumata but, neither the cattle owners nor the government appear to be serious about taking care of stray cattle. Some members demanded setting up of more shelters for the stray animals while others felt that this would not solve the issue.
In response, Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna stated that, currently, it is estimated that there are over 27,000 stray cattle roaming on the roads. The government is making sincere efforts towards tackling this issue but it can’t be fully resolved without the cooperation of the common people. People will have to change their mentality for this.
The minister admitted that over 27,000 stray animals are roaming on the roads in the state, due to which apart from causing traffic problems, road accidents are also resulting. He issued that though the government is setting up cow shelters in order to keep destitute cattle and is now constructing 70 new cow shelters, this alone will not solve the problem. Some members demanded that a strict law should be enacted under which the cattle owners would be forced to take care of old cows once they stop yielding milk owing to old age or illness. To this, Bahuguna said that the government is mulling bringing a strict law in this respect. He added that DPR has been prepared already for 52 out of 70 proposed cow shelters and, for this, Rs 17 crores have been approved. The minister also asserted that Uttarakhand pays an amount of Rs 80 per cow or bull per day for food at cow shelters which is the highest in the country.
