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Stray cattle giving sleepless nights to villagers in west U.P.
With herds of stray cows and bulls causing extensive damage to wheat, mustard and other crops, farmers are forced to guard their fields on cold winter nights
MEERUT Anger is brewing in villages against stray cows and bulls which damage the crops, compelling farmers to guard their fields in cold winter nights after a day’s hard work. The herds of stray animals barge into the fields and graze on wheat, mustard and other crops. Their extensive movement damages what is left of it.
The issue of stray cows and bulls is turning into a nightmare even in city areas, where they can be seen wandering on streets and also on highways, causing hindrance in traffic movement. Sometimes, they also cause accidents in the night.
To note, people have for long expressed their anger over the lackadaisical attitude of officials in addressing the problem. It was also a major issue in the recently held Khatauli by-election in Muzaffarnagar district.
Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan, MP from Muzaffarnagar, along with U.P. skill development minister Kapil Dev, held a meeting with officials on Thursday. He directed the DM of Muzaffarnagar C B Singh to ensure that no cows and bulls should wander on the roads and in fields. He told the officials to send all stray bovines to ‘ gaushalas’ (cow shelters) and directed them to identify land to build more shelters to resolve the issue.
However, most villagers said they were at the end of their tether.
To recall, a farmer Rajbeer (60) of Titawi village in Muzaffarnagar was killed by a stray bull while he was trying to drive him away from his field.
Residents in Talheri Bujurg, Bastam, Ismailpur and Gangdaspur villages in Saharanpur, Paswara and Rehdra villages in Meerut district and Khejra, Chaprauli, Baghpat and Baraut area in Baghpat district also complained about the increasing numbers of stray animals and the nuisance they caused.
Subhash Nain of Saroorpur Kalan in village Baghpat said that in this cold weather, farmers were compelled to spend the nights guarding their fields to protect their crops from herds of stray cows and bulls. Nain further said that farmers were deeply troubled because after a day’s toil in the fields, they had to keep awake throughout the night.
Manoj Malik of Paswara village shared that the government had banned putting barbed wire fencing to prevent animals from entering the fields. He asked, “How would a farmer protect his crop under such circumstances”?
District veterinary officer in Baghpat Dr Ramesh Chandra claimed that a drive had been initiated to catch stray cows and bulls and so far, 30 animals had been caught and sent to ‘gaushala’ in the past week. He said that the district had 23 gaushalas which housed 4197 cows and buffaloes and 894 of them were given to people.
The villagers claimed that the stray animals had injured many people and a few had succumbed to their injuries.
They accused the officials of adopting a lackadaisical attitude towards their complaints and demanded effective check on these animals. A farmer Satab Singh in Jainpur village of Saharanpur claimed that he waited three days for the response of the local officer to send five cattle, which he caught from his field, to the gaushala. When there was no response, he eventually managed to send them to the cow shelter.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union’s leaders, who had raised the issue during their protests in different districts of the region, have warned officials that they will tie these animals on their office premises if the problem is not addressed .
