‘Harassment’ in name of cows by contractors’ henchmen too

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 20

With three cows and a calf loaded in his vehicle, a godman from Jalandhar was on his way to Haridwar around six months back when he was stopped on the GT Road near Rajpura by a group of men following him. They accused him of illegally trading cattle from the state without paying the fair fee. “You owe a penalty of Rs 80,000 for four animals,” the leader of the group told him.

The “baba” pleaded that the cattle belonged to Baba Laldayal Ashram, Jalandhar, and were being taken to their ashram in Haridwar. A deal was struck for Rs 10,000.

Apart from Gau Raksha Dals (cow protection groups), another vigilante group is throwing a spanner in the works for cow breeders and traders. It is the task force of contractors who have been given the contract of more than 900 cattle fairs in the state for Rs 48.61 crore.

Under The Punjab Cattle Fairs (Regulations) Act 1967, the Rural Development Department is responsible for running more than 900 cattle fairs in the state. A contractor is entitled to charge 4 per cent of the total cost of the cattle inside the mandi, but not outside.

The contractor is entitled to check if the sellers and buyers have paid the fair fee, with provisions of penalty against the defaulters. However, instead of making the checks at the cattle fairs, the contractors have made permanent check-posts at various inter-state entry and check points on Punjab’s borders. It is also common to see the police accompanying them.

In recent times, illegal penalties, manhandling and harassment by these contractors have created an atmosphere of fear among the local cattle traders as well as traders from outside Punjab.

In February, a large number of cattle traders and breeders from across the state assembled in Muktsar and formed an association in the name of People’s Welfare Cattle Breeders’ and Traders’ Union to deal with the problem. “They have no business to extort money outside the mandis. But they take help of the police and harass us. It has hit the business badly. Now the entire cattle trade has shifted to Rajasthan or Haryana,” says Muktsar-based Rajiv Kumar, president of the union.

One of the latest victims is Ambala Cantonment-based dairy farmer Deepak Yadav, who purchased four buffalos from a village in Ferozepur, and was taking them to his dairy when the police signalled him to stop near the Shambhu barrier at midnight last week. Without asking anything, they directed him towards the contractor’s men standing on the other side of the road. “They asked for Rs 2,000 per buffalo. I requested them that I have purchased these cattle from a village, not a mandi. They kept me waiting till 4 am. Two buffalos were pregnant and fell ill. They let me go after charging Rs 1,000 per buffalo,” he recalls.

Similarly, cattle trader Sukchain Singh from Malwal Qudim village in Ferozepur became a victim around four months back when he paid Rs 4,000 for four buffaloes. “Now cattle traders are not ready to come to Punjab,” he says.

These contractors are not only hand in glove with the police, but also provide funds to Gau Raksha Dals.

When the issue was brought to the knowledge of officials, Punjab Gau Sewa Commission chairman Keemti Bhagat wrote a letter to the Director General of Police.

Last year, acting on Bhagat’s complaint, the DGP wrote to all the districts police chiefs asking how the men of these contractors were charging illegally from the traders. “Those who don’t have receipts of cattle fairs are being imposed heavy penalties,” he wrote. Sometime back, even the Punjab and Haryana High Court had to intervene and pass directions that common villagers shouldn’t be harassed and fair fee should be charged only from people who are selling or purchasing cattle in the fairs.

However, the People’s Welfare Cattle Breeders’ and Traders’ Union feels the contractors are not ready to pay heed to even the High Court directions. Minister for Rural Development Sikander Singh Maluka was not available for comments. For traders, hard times seem here to stay. “First, our business was destroyed by the Gau Raksha Dals, now these contractors have broken our back,” says Rajiv Kumar.