BHOPAL: Need a gun licence? Cuddle up to a cow.

In

, guns and gau now go hand in hand. The district administration has made it mandatory for gun licence applicants to donate 10 blankets for cows or serve for three days in a gaushala.

Only last week, the Gwalior administration imposed the blanket clause for licence seekers. But in a region where owning a gun is considered as important as roti-kapda-makaan – or more – many were finding it difficult to fork out the money for 10 blankets along with the licence fee and the cost of the gun.

So, the administration tweaked it to say that those who cannot afford the blankets could compensate in kind – by serving in a gaushala for three days. “Within a week, we have received 1,700 blankets as 170 people have applied for gun licence. We have already distributed 1,000 of these blankets in ‘gaushalas’ and some among the homeless,” Gwalior collector Anurag Chowdhary told TOI.

“Some applicants approached us to say they would like to serve in ‘gaushalas’. Some said they cannot donate the blankets, so they would rather work in a gaushala. We also have some who volunteer for both,” he said.

Abandoned cattle are a social problem, he remarked. “If they loiter on the roads, it often leads to accidents. We are trying to tackle the problem this way. There are two gaushalas within Gwalior city limits, housing 12,000 cows there. Together with gaushalas in nearby areas, there are around 14,000 abandoned cows in shelters, who need care,” Chowdhary said.

There are some 18,000 gun licence holders

, and thousands apply every year. The administration often channelizes this fascination for firearms to drive social schemes. Some time ago, gun licence seekers had to plant saplings as part of the application process.