Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has given a week time to all the District Magistrates (DMs) to ensure that stray cattle across the state are moved to cow shelters. The order comes amid reports that stray cows were destroying crops in the field. In many parts of Uttar Pradesh, farmers have reportedly locked stray cattle into government buildings like schools and hospitals to save their crops.
The CM directed severe action against stray cattle owners and those who lock up the animals in government buildings, informed an official.
Adityanath has directed that all stray animals, which include cattle, must be sent to shelters by 10th January. The instruction follows a recent state government decision to charge a 0.5 % cow welfare cess on few public sector undertakings to help in constructing and maintaining more cow shelters.
The CM in a video conference said “Stray cattle sometimes become a cause for road accidents in town areas. They also damage crops in rural areas and can create law and order issues. Therefore all District Magistrate should take required action so that such issues do not occur”.
The meeting held on Wednesday (2nd January) was also attended by Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey and some other top officials.
He also asked the DMs to ensure that farmers and other people in the state do not face any problems because of stray cattle. The DMs should impose fines on people who come to the shelters claiming for their cows after leaving them. He asked the authorities to ensure proper fencing at all the cow shelters and also to see that arrangements for feeding and veterinary care are prepared.
Adityanath further added that necessary assistance from businessmen, traders and peoples’ representatives must be sought in running the `kanji houses’, shelters were cows are presently kept. He also held a series of meetings after annoyed farmers confined stray cows in government buildings in some parts of the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government has cracked down on unauthorised slaughterhouses in the state and ordered the police to prevent cow massacre. The Chief Minister said the funds allocated for cow welfare i.e. Rs 60 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 95 crore in 2018-19 must be used effectively.
On Tuesday, the state government decided to introduce an added levy of 0.5 % as cow welfare cess on 8 profit-making public sector infrastructure firms for the construction and maintenance of cow shelters.
