200 cattle dead in 2 months at shelter in Greater Noida

Over 200 bovines have died in the past two months at a Greater Noida cow shelter, after their numbers trebled in two months in the wake of a directive passed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath asking officials to send stray cattle to shelters across the state.

According to caretakers at ‘Gau-Lok’, a shelter in Jalpura village in Ecotech 3 area of Greater Noida, the cows, buffaloes, bulls and calves died due to various reasons between January 1 and March 7.

The caretakers of shelter run by ‘Goras Foundation’ said the authority had started sending stray cattle to their shelter from January 1. “Earlier, we had 450 bovines at our shelter, but from January 1, their population rose to 1,250. We are witnessing at least four bovine deaths every day and, over 200 have died so far. We register the entry, birth and death of cattle at our shelter with the Greater Noida authority,” Nagendra Kumar, caretaker, Gau Lok, said.

CM Yogi Adityanath passed a directive in the last week of December 2018, asking officials to send all stray cattle to cow shelters. Orders were also given to build new shelters wherever deemed necessary.

“Many stray cattle that are brought in our shelter are ailing and we have only one veterinary doctor here. Many bulls have turned violent and fatally wounded other bovines. Several of these animals are undernourished,” Kumar said.

“After hearing about the deaths, I reached the shelter on Thursday to find at least a dozen being buried at a site near the shelter,” said Nitin Bhati, an animal activist.

Dr Vijendra Tyagi, chief veterinarian, Gautam Budh Nagar, said, “Bulls are usually left to live on the street. They are not properly vaccinated stray and they usually carry diseases. A large number of stray bulls have been brought to shelters, leading to spread of diseases.”

“Earlier, I used to buy 22 quintals of green fodder for the cattle a day. Now I have to buy 70 quintals a day. We run the shelter on donations and we have not received any financial aid from the Greater Noida authority,” Kumar said.

Deep Chand, additional chief executive officer, Greater Noida authority, said, “We are constructing a new shelter with proper fencing and sheds. Housing them in Gau Lok is a temporary arrangement and we have also provided medical help to the shelter owners. The figure of over 200 deaths is not true. We will give a cheque of ?5 lakh to the centre today.”

First Published: Mar 09, 2019 03:25 IST