INSTITUTIONALISE FUNDRAISING FOR COW PROTECTION

Apropos ‘Problem of plenty in gaushalas’ (HT Spotlight, July 19), it is ironic that ban on cow slaughter is one of the reasons for the overcrowding in sheds. Both Punjab and Haryana face this problem, but Punjab has found no solution despite spending ₹30 crore for the construction of a gaushala in each district. Animals saved from slaughter either roam on streets, feeding on plastic and living in dirtyshelters. Grazing land remains a luxury. Cows face the choice between a painful journey to slaughter houses or in the squalor of gaushalas. The need of the hour is to build and maintain self-sufficient shelters for cows. Fund-raising events need to be held regularly.

Soshil Rattan, Amritsar Across the country today, gaushalas have turned into jails for cows. The key to revival is raising funds and formation of a commission to run these shelters. It takes money to organise food, medicines for cows and a model needs to be developed where the need for funds is taken care of. In villages, people who want to leave these cows in a shelter must be asked to pay for their maintenance. Both the Centre and the state need to contribute to generate funds to protect and care for the cow. Narinder Singh Chauhan, Patiala It is common to see hoardings and wall paintings displaying a demand of making cow as the national animal of India. Cow represents a particular religion thus can’t be appointed as the national animal as the Constitution grants equal status to all religions. Such wall paintings are illogical. Anarchism is spread in the name of cow vigilantism on the social media, provoking people to make baseless demands. Such hoardings and uncertified accounts on social media that spread such demands must be taken down. Kulyash Balhra, Rohtak