Yogi govt books farmers for ‘cruelty to animals’  for herding stray cattle inside school

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district have booked local farmers for herding the cattle that had been straying on their fields into a local school, causing resentment against the Yogi Adityanath government in the local community.

After the local farmers tied the cattle in the school premises on Tuesday, forcing the school administration to hold classes outside, the school in district’s Kudana village alerted the district authorities and local police.

Shamli’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Kumar said that the farmers had been charged for animal cruelty. Police have registered an FIR against 24 people, of whom four people — Pawanvir, Omperkash, Rohtash and Brijlal — have been named, police told reporters on Thursday.

District authorities say that the orders to book the farmers came straight from Lucknow, following which the local administration had little choice.

The district administration’s decision to impose cases on the troubled farmers, however, is not going down well with the locals.

Congress leader and former MLA from Shamli, Pankaj Malik, noted that the problem of stray cattle has become widespread under the current government. “It is harsh on part of the government to book the farmers, who are bearing the brunt of this ongoing stray cattle crisis,” said Malik.

Locals say that even the local gaushalas have refused to admit the stray cattle for free, and have been demanding a fee of Rs 5,000 for every cow brought in.

In December, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials to make immediate arrangements for proper care of stray cows within a week.

Besides asking officials to make 750 cows shelters set up at the Zilla Panchayat level functional, he had also directed them that proper fodder, shed and drinking facilities should be provided to the bovines both in rural and urban areas.