‘More cows died in Mathana gaushala than were reported’
KURUKSHETRA: Animal Welfare Board of India member Mohan Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday said the deaths of cows in a government-run under-construction cow shelter in the district’s Mathana village went under-reported and he will demand probe into this.
Several cows had died due to swampy ground and waterlogging in the Mathana cow shelter.
The district administration and the village panchayat had claimed that 21 cows died since May 1 after eating plastic bags. Nearly 300 cattle were sent by the Akhand Gaushala of Swami Satyanand to the under-construction gaushala without any permission from the administration.
Ahluwalia, who visited the cow shelter, said, “During my visit, I found serious loopholes. I don’t know why cattle were moved to this gaushala, which was not ready yet. I will write to Haryana chief secretary for an investigation into the matter.”
He said he will also ask the state government not to send the cattle to under-construction gaushalas without a clearance from the public works department (PWD).
Thanesar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Narender Malik said, “The number of dead cows was given by the animal husbandry department and I cannot say anything on it.”
On the increasing number of cattle in the gushalas of the state, Ahluwalia said, “We cannot bring it down immediately but the state government should take steps to solve this issue and set up more cow shelters.”
On incidents of lynching and violence by cow vigilantes, he said, “There is no denying the fact that some wrong people have become cow vigilantes even as many of them do not have a cow.”