Cows were locked up by protesting farmers in Aligarh | Photo Credit: ANI

Aligarh: Farmers in Gorai, Uttar Pradesh locked several cows in government schools and health centre on December 24 and 25 claiming that they were destroying their crops.

"The cows are destroying crops. We've been demanding cow shelter from the government but no action is being taken," a farmer said to ANI.

The entire village is dealing with the problem of stray cattle for the past few days. The farmers have also begun to protest against the issue. They are taking the cows to hospitals and various other government buildings as a sign of protest.

The children are not able to study in the schools as there is no space and there are only cows in the school premises. Around 500 stray cows were locked up in a primary school by farmers of Tamotia village in Iglas in Aligarh. The school remained shut for two days.

“Cows and bulls have destroyed more than 200 bighas of our wheat crop in the past month. The police came in the afternoon and told us to free them and warned us of strong action," another farmer from Saipur in Aligarh said.

The problem of stray cattle destroying the crops of the farmers in various villages of Aligarh has increased and the farmers have been protesting against the same.

The District Magistrate, CB Singh received several complains about the issue after which he directed Sub Divisional Magistrate to visit Gorai. The locked up cows were then moved to state-sponsored cow shelters, also known as gaushalas. Singh also said that the administration is in the process of constructing more cow shelters.

There has been a strict vigil on cattle movement by the government as well as police authorities after the ban on cow slaughter.