Over 500 cows die at Jaipur’s cowshed in 10 days

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, August 1

More than 500 cows have died at Jaipur’s gaushala in the BJP-ruled Rajasthan in the past 10 days amid a raging debate in the country on cow protection and the growing number of attacks by right-wing vigilantes.

Doctors at Jaipur's Hingonia Gaushala — Asia’s best cowshed — on the Tonk Road in the state’s capital claim starvation was a likely cause. Fifty have died every day in the past week alone.

Dr Harendra Singh, the Chief Veterinary Officer at the shed, claims that the shed sees 35-38 cows — most of which are stray or abandoned — die every day on an average.

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“Ill health and injuries suffered from accidents outside the shelter are the main causes. The deaths may also have occurred because these cows were sick and weak and did not take regular feeds,” Singh says.

The shed is run by the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC).

The state government however denies negligence, claiming the cows that died were probably already sick. The state department of animal husbandry claims the government has spent Rs 10.78 crore on the shed in 2015-16.

“Fourteen veterinary doctors and 24 livestock assistants work at the shed around the clock. The budget for maintaining the shed is increased every year. There are over 8,000 cows in the shelter. The shed also has 200 other people on payroll. There was no lapse,” KL Meena, Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry, said.

Director of State Veterinary Department Dr AK Gupta blamed heavy rain for the deaths.

Authorities have brought in 50 tractor trolleys to remove the carcasses.

Opposition Congress however blames the deaths on negligence and has begun demanding action. Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot, state Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi, and Jaipur District Congress President PS Khachariwas have visited the cowshed.

Rajasthan is the only state with a ministry for cow protection.

The country has recently seen a rise in the number of attacks by right-wing vigilantes over cow protection.

In the most recent case that sparked protests, some Dalits were beaten in public by some vigilantes for having skinned a cow in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat. The Dalits claimed the animal was dead.