Govt seeks report on cow deaths in Hisar sanctuary

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, January 13

Taking a serious view of the death of cows in the cow sanctuary in Hisar, the state government has sought an urgent report from the administration about the number of cows that have died and the measures taken to protect them from cold.

Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department, has sought a detailed report from the Municipal Corporation authorities on five points.

The district administration has sought the figure of the dead cows, number of employees for the care of the cows, arrangements including the sheds, fodder and water etc and the measures to protect the cows from extreme cold in Hisar.

Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, DS Sandhu admitted that they have sought the details of the total number of cows and those that died in the cow sanctuary from the Municipal Corporation authorities.

He said that they have got the figure of 1,329 cows which are in the cow sanctuary. He said that they have been taking care of the treatment of ailing cows. During the post-mortem examination of the cows, we found polythene in the stomach of 90 per cent of them. “These are stray cattle which had fed on trash, including polythene. Polythene led to choking coupled with stress of the cold wave. All these factors seem to be responsible for the death of the cows. Hence, we have been carrying out the TB testing of all the animals,” he said.

Municipal councillor Man Singh Chauhan led a protest in the town alleging that poor upkeep of the cows has led to their death in the cow sanctuary. “A grant of Rs 10 crore was released for the cow sanctuary, but the poor state of affairs points to large-scale corruption and misuse of grant. The MC authorities claimed to have shifted 2,440 cows to the cow sanctuary,” he said, alleging that local MLA Kamal Gupta and Mayor Gautam Sardana should be held accountable for the poor state of affairs in the cow sanctuary.