Despite the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act, 2007 remaining operative in place in this hilly State over the years, the bovine animals often stray on to the roads causing accidents off and on. In the absence of a concrete action plan in this direction, the presence of the Act was proving meaningless, many people in the town said. The Act has been in force since July 19, 2007. It clearly stipulates that no one would be allowed to leave cows free on the roads after milking them or leave the cow progeny to stray. In addition, it is mandatory to mark every animal individually.
According to the Act, those breaking the law could be slapped with fine of Rs1,000 aside from being awarded one month’s imprisonment. However, the situation has remained the same even after so many years since the Act was enforced. With the municipal council doing nothing to check the menace, the number of stray animals wandering on the roads has been rising alarmingly.
Meanwhile, activists pointed out that apart from the lack of implementation of the Act, resources crunch Uttarakhand Gau Seva Aayog also facing many problems in taking necessary action in this regard. The Gau Seva Aayog lacked a proper office, staff and other important resources needed to fulfil its responsibilities, they said. According to senior BJP leader Bhakar Gairola who is involved with bovine protection activities, the State Government was not serious on this matter. He said that despite the laws being made, things had not changed a tad, given the lack of will on its part to implement it.
The law remained just a fine print, sans any effect on the ground, the BJP leader said. According to municipal corporation, New Tehri executive officer, Ml Shah, the Council has sought funds from the government, adding that ‘’Gaushala’’ could not be built due to fund crunch. He said that to make people aware of the problem, they kept on making public announcements from time to time.