Despite Gauvansh cess, stray cows in pitiable state

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, July 20

Even after introducing a cess of Re 1 on each bottle of liquor and enacting a legislation to reserve 15 per cent annual earnings of all temple trusts in the state on gausadans and gaushalas, the plight of cows remains more or less the same.

Even the Himachal Pradesh High Court had given directions to the government for setting up cattle sheds for stray cattle but the government had failed to make a serious effort.

A large number of stray cattle can be seen roaming on streets. They also pose a risk to commuters as they have caused a number of fatal accidents.

Sanjeev Nadda, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Kullu, said there were 2,576 stray cattle in the district and efforts were being made to provide them shelter. He said 1,500 cattle were provided shelter in 10 gausadans of the district. He said there were plans to develop more gausadans and a cow sanctuary in the district.

However, the condition of cows in some of the gausadans is pitiable. A resident said there was leakage in a sewerage chamber at the gausadan in Lanka Bekar of Kullu, due to which there was a lot of slush and cows had no place to sit. He alleged that the condition worsened during the winter season and many cattle perished due to harsh circumstances. He alleged that there was no fencing and most of the times, there was no fodder for cows. He said the Kullu Municipal Committee dumped garbage right next to the gausadan and cows scattered the waste while trying to search for food due due to lack of fodder. He alleged that many cows died due to food poisoning after consuming waste.

In another case, a gausadan made near Shalaira in Banjar subdivision at a cost of Rs 18 lakh does not house any cows. Residents said cows were kept there only for a month and then they were left to roam on streets.

Kullu Excise and Taxation Officer Harish said Rs 66,78,651 had been collected as cess on liquor bottles during the last fiscal in the district and the amount had been sent to the government. Sources said the amount of gauvansh conservation cess from liquor sale was approximately over Rs 8 crore in the entire state for the last fiscal. However, nothing much has been done on ground so far, they said.

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Caption: Stray cattle roam on streets in Manali. File Photo