Nearly eight months after the BJP government brought in an anti-slaughter law to protect cows, authorities have booked over 400 cases for offences, but are far from setting up gaushalas in every district meant to shelter senile bovines.
The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act was introduced earlier this year, imposing a blanket ban on the slaughter of cows in the state.
The only slaughter allowed is of terminally ill cattle or cattle suffering from contagious diseases or operated upon for experimental or research purposes. Also, buffalo above the age of 13 years can be slaughtered with certification from a competent authority.
Uttara Kannada (Karwar) tops the list of districts with 95 out of the total 413 cases filed under the new law since February this year.
It is feared that the new law will burden farmers as they will have to take care of cattle, especially cows, even after they become barren.
The government asked farmers to leave the animals at any of the 188 non-government gaushalas and promised to construct shelters, one in each of the 30 districts, by earmarking Rs 15 crore in the 2021-22 Budget.
In the first phase, Rs 24 lakh has been released to each district. The gaushalas will be opened through Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in every district.
Only recently did the government finish the process of identifying land for the gaushala in Raichur, Bengaluru Rural, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Chikkaballapur, Haveri and Gadag districts. The government is in the “final stages” of providing land for the purpose in Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Bengaluru Urban and Hassan.
“In the remaining districts, the process of starting gaushalas soon is underway,” Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan stated in a written reply to the Legislative Council during the recently concluded session of the legislature.
The first gaushala - a public-private partnership facility - to be opened under the new Act is scheduled to start functioning in Vijayapura on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti Day.
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(Published 27 September 2021, 17:08 IST)
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