After protests over stray cattle, Aligarh cops to adopt cows, calves abandoned by farmers

AGRA: In an unusual way to resolve the ongoing stray cattle menace in Aligarh, which witnessed series of protests by farmers in the past week, district police officers have decided to adopt one bovine each, mainly unproductive cows and calves, in order to motivate common people to follow suit.
The proposal to “voluntarily” adopt a bovine was mooted at the meeting of district police officials by Aligarh senior superintendent of police AK Sahni.Forty-one police personnel, who attended the meeting, offered to adopt one stray bovine each. These included four additional SPs, nine circle officers and 27 police station incharges, besides the SSP himself. The bovines will be adopted from January 1.
Talking to TOI, SSP AK Sahni said that the purpose of the initiative is to send a message among the residents that those who can easily afford maintenance of a stray animal should do it in order to help the society at large.
“Every adverse law and order situation is to be faced by us, so we should be the ones taking the initiative in resolving the problems that ail the society,” Sahni said, adding that this arrangement will continue till all the cow shelters, which are being constructed by the government, become operational.
Sahni, however, added that he will keep the cattle forever.
Superintendent of police (city) Ashutosh Dwivedi said the initiative should also motivate people not to abandon their unproductive animals as they end up destroying standing crops in the fields besides becoming a nuisance in the streets.
Dwivedi said he had no space in his house to keep the bovine, but he volunteered to bear the entire expense of the animal’s upkeep.
Meanwhile, Aligarh district magistrate CB Singh has also planned to call a meeting and urge all the administrative staff, around 15,000 of them, to voluntarily adopt a stray bovine each. He said, “This is a good step in terms of contributing for a social cause.”
Protests against the stray cattle menace have been happening in Aligarh for the past week.
On Wednesday, students and teachers of around a dozen government primary and upper primary schools in Aligarh were forced to stay out of their classrooms on Wednesday as local residents in Iglas area herded stray cows and bulls inside the school compounds. Later, the schools were closed by the administration and the children went back to their homes.
Angered by stray cattle roaming around in their villages and damaging crops, residents of Mohakampur in Iglas, Kaser Gangiri in Atrauli and a few other blocks of the district locked up around 800 animals in schools. Stray animals were even locked up inside a primary health centre.