Proposal mooted to set up pound on cattle fair ground

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Fatehgarh Sahib, December 15

The district administration’s has proposed to convert the cattle fair ground in Nabipur village on the Rajpura-Jalandhar GT road to a cattle pound to rid the Sirhind town of stray animals.

Sources said a proposal to this effect had been prepared by the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) and forwarded to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), who in turn has sent it to the Deputy Commissioner.

Earlier, a cattle fair was being organised on the outskirts of Sirhind town but as the new grain market came up, the venue kept shifting from one place to other. But, after the new cattle fair ground was constructed at a cost of Rs 7.56 crore, not even a single fair has been organised in the district.

As per plan, two cattle fairs were to be organised twice a month.

As the Sirhind cattle fair was know to market some quality cattle, buyers not just from Punjab, but other states too visited the event. The move has raised apprehensions among dairy farmers and businessmen associated with the trade.

Sources in the Animal Husbandry Department said even though the cattle fair was being held in Sirhind on papers, the contractor was actually organising the fair at the Khanna cattle market after getting nod from a senior Akali leader.

While confirming the development, ADC Baljit Singh Sandhu said the cattle fair ground had remained unutilised for the past three years. He said the cattle fair ground would be utilised as a cattle pound to rid the Sirhind-Fatehgarh town and its surrounding areas of stray animals.

Earlier, Zila Parishad chairman Baljeet Singh Bhutta had claimed that he had written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal urging him to direct the authorities concerned to organise cattle fair in the district itself.