‘Rein in cow vigilante groups’

Punjab topped in cow breeding in the country. Breeders in Punjab were selling 3,00,000 cows to buyers outside the state every year, bringing in a business of Rs 2,500 crore. Thanks to cow vigilante groups, traders from outside have now stopped coming to Punjab. The price of cows has dropped by more than 50 per cent.   Who is responsible for this situation? Gau Raksha Dals are patronised by the government and backed by the police. It is sheer political opportunism.   

—Daljit S Sadarpura, Progressive dairy farmers’ assn

These ‘gau rakshaks’ will ruin the state’s economy and social fabric.The state funding to gaushalas must also be questioned. Why should the state support the religious beliefs of one section? The government’s focus is on appeasing pseudo-religious groups.The gaushalas are becoming an excuse for encroachment. If the state cannot rein in violators and is unable to implement the orders of the Supreme Court, it is indeed symptomatic of a failed state.

—Dr Navdeep Singh Khaira, nephrologist, ludhiana

Some political outfits revere the cow as holy and consider it their duty to protect them. There is no harm if they make arrangements to shelter stray, discarded or sick cows. But in reality, these outfits are using the issue to divide the people and to deflect their attention from the real issues confronting society. It has been one of our main demands in recent times that arrangements be made for stray cattle, including cows. But this does not mean cow vigilantes should not be reined in.

—Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary, BKU (Ugrahan)

Cows are treated as assets by farmers who rear them for livelihood. Cow vigilantes have no authority to dictate terms to them. Organisations such as the Punjab Gau Sewa Board, that has already spent a huge sum, should be abolished and the vigilante groups banned.They not only deny the farmers a chance to earn profit by selling their unproductive cows, but also create a hostile environment, leading to clashes among different communities.This is dangerous.

—Sukhdarshan Natt, lader, cpi (ML-Liberation)

There is no denying the fact that the problem of stray cattle, mostly comprising cows, exists in the state. It is affecting a large number of people.The solution does not lie in slaughtering the cows. They need to be protected. The move towards a gaushala in each district is a step in the right direction. But the work is not progressing at the pace it should. The government is yet to provide sufficient funds. Much more needs to be done, and that too urgently.  

—Keemti Bhagat, chairman, Punjab  gau sewa commission