Back-to-back events in gaushalas in Bhopal and Indore in a month suggest that cows continue to be a poll issue in the state, but there appears to be a gap between intent and implementation when it comes to their protection.
The officials, on the other hand, claim that everything is in order. MP Gaupalan and the chairman of the Livestock Promotion Board's working committee, Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri, called them "isolated incidents" that might be the result of "carelessness in a cowshed or death owing to old age. Efforts are being done at every level to safeguard cows," he stated.
The state has about 1,625 cowsheds, whereas the government's target is 3,000. Gram Panchayats run around 1,000 gaushalas, while NGOs run the rest. 2.5 lakh cows are kept in gaushalas and cow sanctuaries in the state while the number of stray cows is around 5 lakhs.
In 2019, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government decided to grant Rs.20 per day every cow, up from Rs.4 per day that was given earlier.
The allowance was maintained by the BJP government. However, experts believe that this is insufficient. "Around 8-10kg cow feed or grass is required every day per cow, which costs Rs.50," Swami Ganeshanand, who runs gaushalas in MP and Rajasthan, stated. "The government should not be held solely accountable for cow protection. It should be done with the support of society, and there is a need to raise awareness rather than making cows a political issue," he added.
Officials plan to boost the grant per cow to Rs.30 — Rs.20 from the government and Rs.10 from panchayat households. The Gaupalan Board has instructed gram panchayats to conduct the necessary work, and volunteers have been requested to motivate people and collect money from houses that have abandoned cows on the streets.
"If one person donates, we earn Rs.3650 per year," Giri said. The target is to collect from 1 crore individuals, which would be far more than any grant or state allocation. In MP, each cowshed is allotted 5 acres of land to cultivate cow grass, due to which the assumption that Rs.20 per day per cow is not less is not correct.”
