Anti-cow slaughter act has made lives of farmers miserable
►Unable to sell their aged cattle, farmers request government to buy them or make provision for selling
BIJAPUR: For three days, Yecharappa Dundasi, a farmer of Nalatwad village waited for buyers to sell a couple of oxen he owned. Despite spending over three thousand rupees on transport, other expenses, and after spending two days at the cattle market, Yecharappa was unable to sell his animals and was forced to return home.
He was hoping that by selling the oxen, he would earn some money for the wedding of his daughter, but in the absence of buyers, the farmers at the cattle market had to return home with heavy hearts.
Yecharappa is one of the many hundreds of farmers whose lives have become miserable after the enactment of the anti-cow slaughter act by the current government, as no buyer is willing to come forward to buy the cattle fearing arrest.
People like Yecharappa are either faced with a prospect of having no buyers or selling their prized animals to those who are ready to buy but are offering dirt-cheap exchange rates.
“My burly ox goes at least for Rs. 1 lakh a pair, but in the market, some buyers offer Rs. 40,000 for a pair, how can I sell them for that amount? Who will cover my loss?” the worried farmer relayed.
This situation unfolded at the recently held cattle market organized in the background of the annual Ayyanagudi temple Jatra.
Hundreds of the farmers from the nearby villages had arrived at the market to sell their cattle, but the majority of the farmers could not sell their livestock in the wake of the anti-cow slaughter act.
Though the Act allows the farmers to buy or sell cattle for farming purposes, due to stringent provisions made for this process, the farmers are not in a position to sell them.
The buyers in particular fear the intimidation of pro-Hindu activists, who are known to stop the cattle traders while carrying animals and later handing them to police.
“Nobody wants to mess with the police and drag an unnecessary case on them even after buying cattle legally. These cow vigilantes may attack and thrash the buyers without even hearing the side of transporters. The police too stand with them and the transporters become victims. This is the reason why buyers are not coming forward to purchase cattle”, said an agent who does not wish to be identified.
Meanwhile, the situation of farmers who own aged animals is worse as they are neither in a position to raise them nor sell them.
“The burly ox or milking cow can be sold to any person at least locally in the village if not in the cattle market, but who will buy aged and unproductive cattle. The farmers can’t simply keep feeding them fodder without expectation of any returns. They don’t even want to simply donate the animal for free to any Go Shala. Such farmers are really in trouble because of the new law”, said another farmer Shivayogi Murkartihal.
He said that in the past, the farmers could sell off the aged cattle and buy calves with the same money to raise them for milk.
Accusing the politicians of playing with the lives of countless farmers, the farmers said that if the government has real concern for the cows and the farmers, then let the government buy the aged and unproductive cattle from the farmers for a remunerative price.
“Let the government do anything with the cattle after buying from the farmers. But the government should not create a situation where neither the government is willing to buy nor allowing others to purchase. This is simply absurd and inhuman”, the farmers said.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
