Death of cows in K’shetra exposes overcrowded gaushalas
MATHANA (KURUKSHETRA): The death of about one dozen cows at an under-construction cow shelter in Mathana village of Kurukshetra district has exposed the reality of the overcrowded gaushalas in the region.
After a visit to several gaushalas in the district, HT found that all of them, whether private or government-run, are over-burdened as the number of stray cattle is increasing by the day.
Due to over-crowding in the nearby Akhand gaushala having 600 cows at Chowki village, its owner Swami Satyanand shifted about 300 cows to the cow shelter in Mathana being set up by the district administration over seven acres of land provided by the village panchayat.
“We were not prepared for the heavy rainfall which caused waterlogging and swampy ground in the gaushala, in which some old, sick and injured cows were stuck and they died in the past one month,” said village sarpanch Kiran Bala.
“But we have shifted 300 cows back to Akhand gaushala and now we will form a committee which will monitor the functioning of this gaushala,” she added.
Even as the government is setting up several cow shelters with the help of village panchayats, the number of stray cattle is still increasing. “As of now, there are 19 gaushalas and cowsheds in the Kurukshetra district alone, but almost all of them are overcrowded,” said an officer of the district administration.
“Our gaushala is smallest in the region, but there are over 600 cows and bulls in this gaushala and it is very difficult for us to accommodate more cows,” said Raj Kumar, member of Shri Krishana gaushala committee of Ladwa.
“We have got only Rs 75,000 from Hayana Gau Sewa Aayog, but our monthly expenditure is above Rs 2 lakh, including salary of 20 employees. We depend on our donors for our expenses,” he said. “But people are still visiting these gaushalas to leave their cattle and even ready to pay donation of Rs 1,100 for per cattle,” he added.
“I paid Rs 3,300 to a gaushala and left three oxen there as we were facing shortage of fodder due to heavy rainfall and waterlogging,” said Dinesh Kumar of Kherki village of Yamunanagar district.
However, sources said that two years after the state government enacted the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015, making cow slaughter and smuggling punishable with rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years, gaushalas of the state have become overcrowded.
Dr Rajbir Vats, gaushala development officer of the animal husbandry and dairying department, told HT, “We are taking step to set up more gaushalas as the number of stray cows is increasing. The government has already identified ‘gau charand’ (grazing land) in villages.”
Having an annual budget of Rs 20 crore, the newly formed Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog has provided Rs 150 per cattle to all 437 gaushalas in the state, but sources in gaushalas said this is not sufficient to feed a cattle for a year.
A DOZEN COWS HAVE DIED IN A MONTH AT UNDERCONSTRUCTION COW SHELTER IN MATHANA VILLAGE