The death of 14 more cows at Kanha Upvan here has resulted in a war of words between mayor Umesh Gautam and Bareilly Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials over the lack of arrangements and upkeep of animals at the shelter home.
“I visited Kanha Upvan on Thursday, checked the register and found that 14 more cows have died between October 16 and October 24,” said Gautam, adding that 44 cows had died so far this month.
The mayor, who had also visited the shelter home on October 15, wrote a letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath highlighting the lack of fodder, poor upkeep and neglect of livestock at the Upvan calling for a high-level inquiry and action against officials.
Municipal commissioner N Samuel Paul had instituted a three-member committee to look into the allegations of the mayor. The commissioner had termed the mayor’s visit a pre-planned exercise aimed at tarnishing the image of officials and denied charges levelled by Gautam, in a letter to principal secretary (urban development).
Veterinary doctor Rajiv Singh, who is a regular visitor to the Upvan, however, said there have been post-mortem examinations of 12 cows since July. “Most of the deaths have been due to animal conflicts, lack of medicines and poor care,” he said adding that there were no separate sheds for bulls that were attacking cows.
{{/usCountry}}Veterinary doctor Rajiv Singh, who is a regular visitor to the Upvan, however, said there have been post-mortem examinations of 12 cows since July. “Most of the deaths have been due to animal conflicts, lack of medicines and poor care,” he said adding that there were no separate sheds for bulls that were attacking cows.
{{/usCountry}}According to experts, against a capacity of 300, the Upvan had 587 livestock and the lack of civic amenities like adequate sheds, a big tank for water, open drains and shortage of staff was causing the deaths.
Meanwhile, Dr Rishendra Verma, of the Indian Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Research, has also written a letter to the UP CM saying that only an independent inquiry by an expert would bring out the truth.
“Neither the municipal commissioner nor the mayor are an expert to deal with the issue,” said Verma adding that he was willing to conduct a probe himself to ascertain the cause of deaths.