Cows are like members of family, it is a crime to kill them: Minister K Sudhakar
Bengaluru: Cows were like a member of the family and it was a 'crime' to kill them, Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Sunday said as the BJP government in the state is mulling bringing back the anti-cow slaughter law.
He also said cow dung acts as a disinfectant, recalling his family had a few cows in the past.
Terming cow slaughter a 'sin', the minister said he would request Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to ban slaughtering of the animal in the state.
"Cow is like a member of the family and its a crime to kill cows," Sudhakar said at the inauguration of 'Goshala' (a shelter for cows) in Chikkaballapura, a release from his office said.
Also, there was a need for people's movement to create awareness against cow slaughtering, he said, adding "being Indians, all state governments should ban cow slaughtering."
Further noting that cows were "worshipped in our culture", Sudhakar said, a detailed discussion on banning export of beef was required in both Houses of the Legislature.
"Our party is committed to ban beef exports, there will be a decision soon on this," he said.
Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan had recently said the state would soon implement a ban on cow slaughter, sale and consumption of beef in line with other states.
Once the Covid-19 crisis eases, an expert committee would be constituted to look into the matter, and if need be, it will visit states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to study about implementation of the ban there, he had said.
The BJP in its manifesto for the 2018 assembly election had promised prohibition of cow slaughter.
Despite resistance from opposition, the then BJP government led by B S Yediyurappa in 2010 had got the controversial Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill passed, proposing to replace the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964.
The bill had widened the definition of 'cattle' and imposed a blanket ban on cattle slaughter, coupled with stringent penalty clauses for violation.
However, the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah that came to power in 2013 withdrew the bill that was pending before the President for his assent.
After the BJP came back to power in the state, several party leaders have been making a pitch to re-enact the anti- cow slaughter law.
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
