Gaushala confined to paper, cattle from outside state add to menace
Rajiv Mahajan
Nurpur, May 30
In the absence of an effective strategy by the state government, the menace of stray animals, especially abandoned cows and bulls, has been assuming alarming proportions in the border district of Nurpur, increasing manifold in the last five years.
The lone gaushala being run by the state Animal Husbandry Department at Khajjian near here on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway (NH) has been closed to accommodate a highway-widening project.
The free-roaming stray cattle on the Pathankot-Mandi NH, local markets and streets not only pose a threat to pedestrians but also to commuters and themselves.
Herds of cows and bulls can be seen roaming on the NH, resulting in frequent road mishaps, especially during the night. Despite the High Court issuing an order in 2015 asking the state government to keep all roads, including NHs, free from stray cattle, the authorities concerned never took any measure to control the menace. It is alleged that local cow and bull owners abandon cattle after they are of no use to them. Apart from this, truckloads of stray animals from neighbouring states are also being left in rural areas and on national highways of the state at night. Enquiries revealed that the previous state government had directed all panchayat and block development officers to construct cowsheds in their respective areas. However, these directions seem to have remained confined to paper. The local administration had also identified 80 kanals of land in the Khanni gram panchayat of Nurpur for setting up a cowshed to accommodate 500 stray cattle in 2015, which, too, remains only on paper.
During the previous government in 2015, the Animal Husbandry Department had started registering animals owned by farmers, tagging the animals with registration numbers. The efficacy of this practice is under question as, now, even these tagged animals can be spotted abandoned on the roads, with no action being taken against those abandoning animals with impunity.
Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (Kangra) president Hoshiar Singh lamented that the apathy of the state government in tackling the growing menace of stray animals was discouraging farmers, causing them to abandon their fields. Most farmers of the district had stopped growing maize, he added.
