Indian BJP-Led Uttar Pradesh State Gov't is All Set to Launch Stray Cattle Plan

© AFP 2023 / Noah SEELAMAn Indian man sits under the hot sun next to his cattle on the outskirts of Hyderabad on May 25, 2015
An Indian man sits under the hot sun next to his cattle on the outskirts of Hyderabad on May 25, 2015 - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.04.2022
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According to the 2019 Livestock cattle census conducted by India's Uttar Pradesh government, the state has 1.84 million stray cows. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led state government claims to have provided shelter to about 789,000 cows over the past five years.
In a first, Uttar Pradesh State Chief Yogi Adityanath is set to unveil a plan to tackle the stray cattle menace.
The plan includes rehabilitating stray cattle in a 'Gaushala' (cow shelter), cow sanctuaries, crackdowns on illegal slaughterhouses, establishing biogas plants, and utilising cow dung to eventually make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), reported multiple media houses.
A cow is considered a sacred animal in Hinduism, and the BJP raised the issue of cattle many times during poll campaigning in Uttar Pradesh state earlier this year. The party promised a plausible solution to the stray cattle menace in the state if returned to power.
Hence, as soon as he started his second term in office, the Hindu monk and state chief Yogi Adityanatah directed concerned officials to come up with a plan.
The short-term plan includes providing shelters within 100 days for about 50,000 stray cattle and if needed, the number can go up to 100,000 in six months. The officials have proposed various types of shelters for different areas — cattle houses, cow sanctuaries, mega cow shelters, etc., the Indian Express daily reported.
A state government official said that the idea is to tackle the stray cattle problem in such a way that it becomes “financially viable”.
"We will establish biogas plants, utilise cow dung to make CNG, and eventually work towards a public-private partnership," the official said, adding cow dung for this will be purchased from farmers and these government-run shelters.
In its first term, 2017-2022, the Adityanath government had introduced a scheme to provide INR 30 ($0.39) per stray cattle per day to individuals willing to keep them, and impose a toll tax on cows to stop people from abandoning them.
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