Stray cattle campaign stalled as shelters refuse to accept animals

The municipal council's ambitious campaign to free Sirsa of stray cattle has hit a roadblock, with shelters refusing to accept more animals.

District Municipal Commissioner Surendra Beniwal had led a 400-member team to tackle the issue, but the effort came to a halt just four days into the campaign due to the alleged lack of cooperation from cow shelters and Nandishalas.

This recurring problem has hindered past campaigns as well, preventing the city from achieving the stray cattle-free status. Criticising the municipal council, MLA Gokul Setia expressed his frustration in a Facebook post.

Setia wrote, “The municipal council started enthusiastically at 4 am one morning and sent stray cattle to shelters. But what happened after that? This half-hearted approach won’t work. Continuous efforts are needed to free Sirsa of stray cattle. Don’t test the public’s patience.”

Setia uploaded a photo along with his Facebook post, showing stray cattle on the streets of Sirsa. Setia has been consistently demanding that Sirsa be declared a stray cattle-free town and has been accusing the local administration of not putting in adequate efforts to address the issue.

According to officials, Sirsa has approximately 2,000 stray animals. While it would take about a month to relocate all of these animals, shelters must cooperate for the campaign to succeed. Recently, the MC managed to send 280 stray animals to shelters, but after that, the shelters declared they could not take in any more.

With 129 dairies in the town, officials believe controlling stray animals is possible. The council is developing a plan to regulate dairies and discourage owners from abandoning cattle. Vikram, a contractor tasked with catching the animals, said, “Catching 2,000 stray cattle in a month isn’t difficult. We only need shelters to accept them. With a dedicated team, we can work day and night to achieve this.”

Commissioner Surendra Beniwal assured residents that the campaign would not be abandoned. "We will hold discussions with shelter operators to resolve this issue. Making Sirsa stray cattle-free is our goal, and we are determined to achieve it," he said.