Around 40 cows, which were kept in a claustrophobic panchayat bhawan in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district, have died due to suffocation, officials said on Saturday.
Bilaspur district magistrate (DM) Dr. Saransh Mittar said a first information report (FIR) has been filed.
Senior officials have also reached the spot to assess the situation on the ground.
The district authorities have rescued 20 bovines from the panchayat bhawan at Medapar village in Bilaspur’s Takhatpur, Dr. Mittar said.
“Preliminary information has revealed that 60 cattle were kept in the claustrophobic panchayat bhawan in the village for the last couple of days by the sarpanch. We have rescued 20 of them, while 40 have died due to suffocation,” Dr. Mittar said.
A team of veterinarians has reached the village and are attending to the rescued bovines.
“The sarpanch put the cattle inside the panchayat bhawan without seeking the owners’ permission. An FIR has been registered and the cattle owners will get adequate compensation,” he added
Police have reached the spot and carcasses of the cows are being taken out from the panchayat bhawan.
“An FIR has been registered as per the DM’s instruction. An investigation has started,” said Prashant Agarwal. superintendent of police (SP), Bilaspur.
In June, the Chhattisgarh government had launched the “Roka-Chheka Abhiyan” in all villages in the state, which seeks to revive the traditional agricultural methods and to save Kharif crops from open grazing by stray cattle.
The state government is aware that many villages in the state do not have cowsheds and cattle owners are likely to face major difficulties because of the ban on grazing to save Kharif crops.
The government has come to the cattle owners’ rescue and is building 5,000 cowsheds across the state under the Suraaji Gaon Yojana.
The government has appealed to all sarpanches to ensure cattle remain in cowsheds, when the ban on open grazing is in force.
