Stating that thousands of cattle were dying due to acute shortage of fodder and the helpless farmers were herding their milch animals to slaughter houses, the Telangana Goshala Federation has demanded that the State government start rescue shelter homes for animals at mandal level immediately.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, TGF president Mahesh Agarwal, joint secretary B Vasudeva Raju, chief executive officer Bhanu Prakash Goud, Deepak Vijaywargiya of Dyan Foundation and Premchand Munot said farmers and cattle growers were facing acute shortage of fodder this summer due to widespread drought in the State. While the Animal Husbandary department was not supplying even a kg of fodder to any goshala, a large numbers of goshalas were keeping the animals handed over by police stations, they said, adding that only NGOs were playing a vital role in animal welfare.
The TGF leaders said according to official data Telangana has 25 lakh milch animals. While each animal requires 30 kg of green fodder every day, but the farmers and goshala managements were not in a position to provide even 10 kg fodder due to the shortage. They complained that animals at goshalas were dying only due to the criminal negligence of Vaternary doctors. They reminded that last year the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry had announced to provide fodder seed at subsidized rate and also procure fodder from other States. But nothing has happened till date. “We are depending on dry fodder being supplied through tractors by some traders. Earlier a tractor trolley load of dry fodder was supplied for Rs 4000, but now it costs over Rs 9000.
The TGF leaders have demanded that the government provide free fodder to all goshalas and farmers. Their other demands include free water supply to all goshalas from respective gram panchayats; suspension of veterinary doctors, who were not visiting goshalas to treat animals; appointment of special team of veterinary doctors to provide immediate medical aid to animals and supply of medicines to all goshalas. (NSS)