Karnataka government employees on Friday volunteered to donate a portion of their salary towards the flagship Punyakoti scheme of adopting cows.
According to estimates, the total donation amount is in the ballpark of Rs 80-100 crore.
A delegation comprising Karnataka State Government Employees Association president CS Shadakshari met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and gave him a consent letter for salaries to be deducted.
Every Group-A officer will donate Rs 11,000, Group-B Rs 4,000 and Group-C Rs 400 towards the Punyakoti scheme. The Association requested Bommai to deduct the amount from the October and November salaries.
This gesture came more than a month after Bommai urged government employees to adopt cows under the Punyakoti scheme - punyakoti.karahvs.in - launched on July 28 this year.
Bommai thanked the Association for the donation, which he said would contribute to the upkeep of more than one lakh cows sheltered in goshalas across the state.
The BJP government hopes that the Punyakoti scheme would complement the implementation of the new Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, which has imposed a blanket ban on the slaughter of cattle in the state. The only slaughter allowed is of terminally-ill cattle and buffalo aged above 13 years. The government is also building 100 goshalas across the state to house abandoned cattle.
On the occasion, Bommai assured the employees association that the 7th Pay Commission would be constituted in October to revise salaries.