jaipur

Updated: Jul 16, 2017 19:52 IST

After Tidi in Udaipur, nearly 20 cows have died within a week at the Kaliya cow shelter in Alipur allegedly due to lack of fodder.

As many as 150 bovines, including 125 cows, have died since January this year at a government-run shelter in Udaipur.

“More than two dozen cows have died due to the shortage of fodder and water at the cow shelter while the district administration has issued a yearly budget of ₹14 lakh for bovine care,” sarpanch of Alipur gram panchayat Bhagwati Devi said.

“We have complained to local officials to inspect the cow shelter, but no official has visited it yet,” Bhagwati Devi added.

Harendra Chaudhary, a veterinary doctor at the Government Veterinary Hospital in Bhusawar, said that the cows died of silicosis. “Cows grazed on nearby hills because of the shortage of fodder. The animals ate polluted fodder on the hills where illegal mining is on. Cows can be saved from silicosis if they don’t graze on these hills which have polluted grass,” said Chaudhary.

There is no cure for Silicosis, a lung disease caused by the deposit of fine dust particles in the lungs.

Mahesh Kumar, a worker at the shelter, said that the shelter can host 269 bovines.

Villagers alleged that the director of the shelter, Jasvant Singh, is corrupt. “He doesn’t provide fodder, water for bovines while the government has sanctioned a budget for bovine care,”said a villager, who did not want to be named.

Bovines rescued from cow smugglers by the police are kept at the shelter. Villagers also bring stray bovine to the shelter as they damage their crops.

“I have directed the tahsildar and patwari to inspect the shelter and submit a report soon and to provide fodder and water. Legal action will be considered against the director of the shelter if he is found guilty,” Bhusawar sub-divisional magistrate Lokesh Meena said.

Joint director of animal husbandry department, Bharatpur, Yogendra Singh said that after receiving a complaint they have sent a team to visit the cow shelter. “The director of the shelter Jasvant Singh is not capable of running the shelter. The shelter is overcrowded so cows are not getting proper care,” added Singh.

Last year, 135 cows had died at the shelter managed by the Udaipur municipal corporation. The shelter with the capacity to hold 250 cattle heads is currently housing 350 bovines, including 226 cows and 69 bulls.