PROBE ORDERED AFTER OVER 100 COWS DIE IN SHUKRATAAL

MUZAFFARNAGAR: After the death of more than a hundred cows in Ganga Khadar area of Shukrataal in the past few days, the district administration has ordered a probe into the matter, fearing an epidemic among cattle. District magistrate Rajeev Kumar Sharma said a team of the revenue department and veterinary doctors under SDM Jansath was deputed to find the cause of the cow deaths. However, some villagers have alleged that land mafia eyeing the pasture land may be involved.

The cows died in pastures and were suspected to have either eaten poisonous grass or consumed polluted water, sub divisional magistrate Vijay Kumar said. Notably, a major part of the Ganga Khadar area comes under the reserve sanctuary which includes thousands of bighas of pasture land where shepherds graze their animals. During the past few days, a number of cow deaths were reported in the meadow area of Bihargarh, Jalalpur and Behra Ranjeet Pur villages, where some livestock farmers had established temporary shelters for their cattle.