On Saturday, about 40 cows reportedly died due to suffocation in the Medapar village of Takhatpur in Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh.
As per the report, the cows were kept in a claustrophobic environment in the Panchayat Bhawan of the Medapar village on the orders of the Sarpanch or the Panchayat head. He put the bovines inside the Bhawan for two days without informing or seeking permission from their owners. Reportedly, senior officials reached the spot to assess the ground situation that led to the death of the animals. According to Bilaspur District Magistrate Dr. Saransh Mittar, a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed in the case.
He informed that while 40 cows died, around 20 of them were successfully rescued from the Panchayat Bhawan by the district authorities. He stated that the cattle owners will be provided adequate compensation for their loss. As per the report, veterinary doctors rushed to the spot to attend the bovines that were evacuated. The Bilaspur police also rushed to the spot and recovered the carcasses of the cows. According to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Prashant Agarwal, an FIR has been registered in the case and an investigation is underway.
Cattle owners faced with challenges in Chhattisgarh
Reportedly, there is a ban on grazing cattle in the open to minimise the risk of damage to Kharif crops. As such, the cattle owners are faced with major difficulties due to limited cowsheds in several villages in the State. As per the report, the Chhatisgarh government is now building 5000 cowsheds in the State under the Suraaji Gaon Yojana. It has also directed the Sarpanchs to ensure that the bovines remain in their sheds during the enforcement of the ‘open grazing ban’.