No relief from stray cattle menace as cow shelters bursting at seams

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, February 15

Though farm activists have started a campaign to make Ambala stray cattle-free, district residents, especially in urban areas, are unlikely to get any relief from the menace anytime soon as hundreds of cattle are still on roads.

Cattle can be seen roaming on roads, posing a threat to commuters. The farmers who had captured the cattle had a tough time yesterday after the gaushala operators expressed their inability to accept the cattle due to the shortage of fodder and space constraints. Later, SDMs and other officials were deployed to persuade the gaushala operators to accept the cattle.

As per information, there are 13 gaushalas (including 11 registered and two unregistered) in Ambala having over 6,340 animals, and 12 of these are full to their capacity.

BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) leader Tejveer Singh said the union would hold a meeting soon, capture more stray cattle and hand these over to the district administration. But gaushalas are facing space constraints and funds-related issues.

Harkesh Singh, who has been associated with a gaushala at Sullar village, said “Around 23 cattle were shifted here last night. The gaushala has the capacity to accommodate another 100 cattle, but funds have been a major issue. We get fodder in donation from farmers every year that lasts up to January, and we face fodder scarcity in the months of February and March. In 2021, the Ambala Municipal Corporation had agreed to give Rs 1.50 lakh per month for six months and had started sending the stray cattle, but funds were given just for four months and there has been no support since March last year.” Chief sanitary inspector, Municipal Corporation, Ambala Sunil Dutt, said, “An agenda regarding providing financial support to the gaushalas is yet to be passed at the house meeting.” Rajesh Singla, treasurer of the Rambagh gaushala, said, “The gaushalas are in no position to accommodate more cattle. There are around 1,200 cattle here. The government should provide adequate funds and space if it wants social organisations to continue to take care of stray cattle. The government must set up its own gaushalas.” Meanwhile, SDM Naraingarh C Jayasharadha today held a meeting with the gaushala operators of Shahazadpur and Naraingarh and assured them that the administration would extend support to the gaushalas with public support. The SDM said the stray cattle would be shifted to gaushalas and tagging would be done. A plan would be chalked out to ensure that the gaushalas got adequate fodder and assistance.