Yogi prepares to catch the bulls by their horns

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has finally decided to take the bull by its horns.

With just a few months left for the Lok Sabha polls, the state government has decided to deal with the issue so that it does not become a factor in elections.

The government recently sent nodal officers to districts to identify the reasons for the continuance of the problem.

UP chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra has directed officials to ensure that stray cattle are not seen roaming in public places.

“District magistrates will monitor on a daily basis to see that abandoned cattle do not roam in public places,” he said. He also asked them to send proposals for the construction of large cow protection centres as per the requirement to keep deserted cattle there.

Director, animal husbandry, Indramani said the feedback received from nodal officers was being compiled and examined to take further action to deal with the stray cattle issue.

“District magistrates of at least 15 districts have told the nodal officers that in their districts there were no stray cattle out as all of them had been caught and protected in the cow protection centres,” he said.

Indramani said the government was building around 300 large cow protection centres with the capacity of housing 300 cattle each and this, he claimed, would help find a durable solution to the problem.

“Around 12 lakh abandoned cattle are already staying in over 6000 make-shift cow protection centres where all proper arrangements of fodder and water are made available by the government,” he pointed out.

An animal husbandry department official said more stray cattle had been caught and put in the cow protection centres than the total number identified in the last livestock census.