AGRA: At a time when controversy over beef consumption has divided communities and even disturbed the communal harmony across the country, a Muslim, Saleem Shah , has joined a community effort to save stray cows by collecting food and fodder for them.The campaign, an initiative of the residents of Jaipur House, Pratap Nagar, aims at collecting food, vegetables and fodder from the houses in the area and feeding it to stray cattle. Saleem, who is part of the 21-member committee, Gau Grass Seva Samiti, formed to undertake the campaign, was actually the one who floated this idea.Talking to TOI, Saleem, who is also an activist of Muslim Rasthriya Manch, said his family has always been involved in protecting cows and have been collecting fodder for them for the last many years. “When we were living in Komari Village, Aligarh, we used to work as cow sewaks", he said adding that the general perception of all Muslims being beef eaters is wrong.“Cow rakshaks (saviours) can be found in every community”, he said adding that this initiative would not only provide food for stray cows but also help people develop a feeling towards them.Manish Bansal, another committee member, said though individually everyone now and then feeds stray cattle, no community effort has been undertaken in this regard. He said a rickshaw, Gau Grass Vahan, has been hired and it would go to every house daily between 8 am and 12 noon to collect food that would be fed to stray cows.President of the committee, Mata Prasad Agarwal, said food would be collected in four different boxes – roti, raw and green vegetables, fodder (dry aata and choker) and wet aata and gur (jaggery). He said while people can give leafs and outer crusts of vegetables, they are being advised not to give stale stuff or fruit skin.He said if the campaign proves successful, they would hire more rickshaws and expand their area of operation.