Gaushalas in Panipat district overcrowded; face fund scarcity
Mukesh Tandon
Panipat, February 18
Even though nearly 25,000 head of cattle in the district are kept in 33 gaushalas, of which 28 are registered, these gaushalas are overcrowded and reeling under financial crunch in the district. Herds of stray cattle are a common sight on highways and local roads in the district.
Even though there is no exact number of stray cattle registered with the municipal bodies, it is likely that nearly 5,000 animals roam freely on the roads in Panipat, Samalkha, Madlauda, Bapoli and the Sanoli area here.
CM Manohar Lal Khattar at a programme in Kurana village said as many as 4.49 lakh head of cattle were in 638 gaushalas in the state and in Panipat over 21,000 cows were in 28 gaushalas. The Chief Minister also announced the allocation of funds to maintain gaushalas properly in the state in the coming Budget sessions. Ravinder Mittan, district president and state general secretary, Gauvansh Gaushala Sewa Sangh, said nearly 25,000 head of cattle were in 33 gaushalas here, but the condition of almost 95 per cent gaushalas not only in the district, but in the state were not good. There were several problems in running these cow sheds as feeding the bovines in the gaushalas was costly these days. The state government was giving grant to the registered gaushalas, but the rates of the fodder had increased. “We have been demanding Rs 50 per cow/ per day/ for the fodder from the government,” he added. Rajroop Pannu, pesident, District Gaushala Sangh, and president of the Gau abhyaranya at Nain village, said The Municipal Corporation was giving Rs 4 lakh per month for the fodder, which was around Rs 5.20 per cattle per day, he said. But it was not sufficient so the committee was managing funds through people’s support, he said.
“We have no problem in keeping more cattle at the abhyaranya, but more funds are needed from the MC,” he said.
Issue prominently raised in House
The agenda to catch the stray cattle roaming on roads had been prominently raised in the House meeting. No gaushala was ready to take the cattle as these were already overcrowded. — Avneet Kaur, Mayor
Looking for permanent solution
We have been searching for a permanent solution to tackle the stray cattle menace. Meetings over the issue have been held with the gaushalas and abhyaranya committees. — Rahul Narwal, Commissioner
