Temporary shelter at Noida Sector 135 for abandoned cows

The Noida authority on Thursday said it will open a temporary ‘gaushala’ (cow shelter) for abandoned cows in Yamuna flood plains near Sector 135 in the next three to four days. The new facility will accommodate about 1,500 cows, officials said.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had recently directed all district officials to provide shelters for cows deserted by owners. Since abandoned cows either roam freely on city roads or can be seen eating plastic and other sort of waste, the state government wants to contain this practice, the officials said.

“The cow shelter is ready. We will start operations once fodder is available for the cattle. We have constructed three sheds. The agency running a cow shelter in Sector 94 will take care of this facility too,” RK Singh, officer on special duty, Noida authority, said.

The authority has constructed this shelter with a budget of ₹85 lakh on around 20,000 square metres of land meant for grazing. The land is located 300 metres off the Yamuna embankment road near Sector 135, which is a residential area and also houses multinational firms. The Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate has started handing over around 44,000 square metres grazing land for cow shelter to the Noida authority following instructions from the UP government.

“As of now, the administration has handed over 20,000 square metres of land. We have developed the facility to accommodate 1,500 cows. Once the administration will hand over remaining land, we will be able to house around 3,000 cows here,” an authority official, not authorised to speak to media, said. The authority will take care of the maintenance of this cow shelter and Shree Jee Gausadan that runs Sector 94 gaushala will take care of the cows in the new facility.

Since the land is located in flood plains of Yamuna, it has constructed boundary wall with an iron sheet and cow shed is also temporary in nature. The authority took a month to construct this facility.

“The Sector 94 shelter is home to around 1,000 cows. This facility also has a hospital for injured animals. We will shift around 200 cows from Sector 94 to Sector 135 facility. The aim is that the injured or ill cows will be first treated in Sector 94 and then shifted to Sector 135 facility,” the official said.

Residents and motorists keep complaining about stray cattle menace in residential areas and the roads.

“Once this facility starts, we will be able to address the complaints of residents related with cattle menace,” the official said.

First Published: Mar 01, 2019 05:48 IST