With more than one lakh stray cattle in Punjab, the State Government would soon initiate a programme to rehabilitate them. For the same, Punjab Government has come out with an all-inclusive plan.
“An extensive plan has been chalked out to overcome the problem and also to rehabilitate the stray cattle by taking stringent steps to control the menace of stray cattle in the state,” said the State Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike. He said that stray cattle were a constant source of problems to the society and their population was rising day-by-day.
“Sometimes, fatal accidents were caused due to their unmanaged presence on the roads,” he added. Expressing concern over the problem, the Minister said that they feed themselves on the standing crops and thereby damaging the valuable crops of the farmers besides causing traffic hazards.
Ranike said that the State Government would spend an amount of Rs one crore during 2013-14 to suitably rehabilitate the stray cattle, especially cows, providing home to these vagabond cattle — maintaining ration, a minimum level of health cover and the home care. Under this rehabilitation scheme, the Department would also assist Punjab’s Gau Sewa Board, NGOs and the State Animal Welfare Board for strengthening of gaushalas or animal shelters.
The Minister added that the newly-launched scheme would also ensure clean and hygienic environment which was threatened with cow dung spread all over, especially on roads.