The Punjab minister for animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, on Tuesday demanded ₹500 crore from the Union government for the upkeep and maintenance of stray cattle in the state.
According to a release, he raised this demand while addressing a national summer meet organised by the Centre in Gujarat to bring a major revolution in the field of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries sector under Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Union minister Pursotam Rupala was a special guest on the occasion.
Dhaliwal said that 1.4 lakh stray animals were roaming in Punjab without fodder and shelter. He appealed to the Centre to provide ₹500 crore for the building of sheds, arranging green fodder and silage for the maintenance of these animals.
The Minister also raised the demand of ₹100 crore every year for the insurance of 5 lakh milching cattle of the state so that compensation could be given to the cattle breeders to compensate for the natural death of any animal.