Punjab seeks ₹500 crore from Centre for care of stray cattle

The Punjab minister for animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, raised the demand while addressing a national summer meet organised by the Centre in Gujarat

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.

The animal husbandry minister said that 1.4 lakh stray animals were roaming in Punjab without fodder and shelter. (HT File Photo)

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.