At least 10 cows have died due to starvation in the past one week at a cow shelter in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home district, Gorakhpur. An official Santosh Kumar Singh was booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCAA).
On Thursday, residents of Bansgaon found carcasses of the animals from a shelter house in Bansgaon Nagar Panchayat after foul smell started emanating from the shelter house. The nagar panchayat is responsible for the upkeep of stray animals at the shelter house, officials said. Angry locals had started a protest and met officials of the administrative area, seeking action against the officials responsible and demanded proper care of animals.
Inquilabi Naujawan Sabha's president Rakesh Singh, a resident of Bansgaon told NewsClick, “Stray cattle are damaging the crops and giving sleepless nights to farmers despite taking various steps by the government. Honestly, I have been to the cow shelter everyday, there is no management, no fodder for them, only a tin shed which is also in horrible condition. Ironically, Yogi Adityanath came to Bansgaon on March 5 and made fake promises on the name of cow. He said he will allocate huge amount for cow shelters but just two weeks later 10 cows died. When the shelter house was built, there were 100 cows in the shelter house and now only 61 are left. Everyday 2-3 cows are dying here."
Also Read: Reports of Cow Deaths Pour in as Stray Cattle Menace Grows in UP
Singh further added, "The Yogi government is only doing politics in the name of cow. Everyday, cows are dying in a state where the CM keeps chanting the name of gau mata. It is shocking that when cows died, these people do not bury the cows but dump them at the Aami river bank in Gorakhpur. When such treatment is happening in his home district, you can well imagine the situation in other districts. Yogi's love for cow is fake and people are starting to understand this gradually.”
Speaking to NewsClick, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bansgaon, Arun Kumar Mishra said, "As far I know only 3 cows have died, not 10 and not due to starvation or lack of fodder. They died because they were suffering from some disease and veterinary doctors could not save them. Nonetheless, an FIR has been registered against tax collector Santosh Singh and a probe is going on.”
However, Singh denied any further information but accepted that the cow shelter is over-crowded.
This is not the first incident of cow deaths due to hunger in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, at least 200 cows had died in a cow shelter in Greater Noida within two months due to hunger, overcrowding and lack of fodder.
In a similar incident at a cow shelter in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, more than 100 cows died in February. Five cows had died due to cold in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh in February.
Read More: Five Stray Cows Die in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli
