BJP stares at farmers' backlash in UP as cattle destroy crops

What could be more ironic than the fact that while distressed farmers in the state are clamouring for protection from stray cattle a problem that has assumed menacing proportions with crops worth crores of rupees being lost due to it the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has set aside an unprecedented over Rs 600 crore for the protection and welfare of cows in the State Budget for 201920Its a different matter that top government functionaries mouth sympathies for farmers as Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has already paid a price in terms of three state governments in the recent polls for ignoring farmers issuesWith the growing trouble among farmers in Uttar Pradesh over stray cattle ruining their harvest the spectre could result in a possible backlash in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls Naturally there is anxiety in the states Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leadershipOld and abandoned cattle that are being set free because they are no longer of any use have become a terror for people as they destroy crops and fields and add to the agony of already distressed farmersAs for the government that had vowed to protect the gau mata and banned slaughterhouses it appears to have given farmers short shrift The budget also proposes Rs 24760 crore for maintenance and construction of gaushalas in the rural areasMalkhan Chauhan a small farmer in Darveshpur Barabanki some 55 km from here told IANS how his 3bigha farmland had been devastated by stray cattle I spent a lot of money for seeds and fertilisers and now the cattle menace have forced me to shell out another Rs 10000 to fence the field to protect the crop said an upset ChauhanA frustrated Ranjeet Maurya 40 in neighbouring Kanhaipur who lost his crop to the menace criticised the Yogi Adityanath government for his troubles Yogi ordered the closure of slaughterhouses now see whats happening he said and added cow vigilantes and Hindu outfits should adopt ten cows each Crops of potato wheat and mustard have been destroyed by the stray bulls and cows in his village he saidMany cattle have also been abandoned due to growing mechanisation of farming Rizwan Ahmad a dairy owner in Hariharnagar said once the cows go dry stop giving milk they are thrown out by farmers What else do we do of them he askedMany Muslim milk sellers like Ahmad Ali a dairy owner in Chinhat said his community is scared We hear stories about members of the community being roughed up for transporting cows he said They can neither keep a large number of animals nor abandon them he addedThat the cattle menace has taken centrestage for many farmers can be gauged from the fact that in many parts of the state angry farmers have locked up cattle in schools hospitals community health centres Their demand fix this menace Their threat face music at the hustingsThe government has expedited building cattle shelters and gau shaalas but the bureaucratic inertia seems to have retarded the pace Thus the state missed the January 10 deadline set by the Chief Minister Adityanath for district magistrates to shift stray cattle to these shelters Penal action has also been sought against cattle owners who abandon or lock them up in public propertiesThe chief minister is serious about the issue Many steps are being taken to tackle the problem additional chief secretary Information Awanish Kumar Awasthi told IANSThere are 510 registered cow shelters in the state According to 2012 government data there were around two crore cows in the state Adityanath has also called for a fresh census and allocated funds for thatAnimal Husbandry Minister SP Singh Baghel agrees that there is a problem but claimed A solution is on the way However he pointed out that the number of stray cattle was also a reflection of the staggering number that was being slaughtered before the banSamajwadi Party SP spokesman Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said the BJP government has misplaced priorities and predicted that farmers anger would cost them dear in the 2019 Lok Sabha electionsThe state government has also levied a 05 per cent tax Cow Protection Cess on eight government departments including the cashrich excise departmentCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever