Menace by stray cattle forces locals to drive 100s of cows into civic body's compound in MP

Bhind (MP): The menace of stray cattle in a town in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district has pushed its residents to drive hundreds of cows into the grounds of a local civic body, an official said on Tuesday.

As per a report by PTI, the residents and farmers of Akoda town drove about 700 to 800 cows into Akoda Nagar Parishad's compound on Monday and locked them, chief municipal officer (CMO) Rambhan Singh Bhadoria said.

He said that the residents have claimed that the stray cattle had been destroying their crops, and were angry that they were not being sent to a gaushala (cow shelter).

A cow shelter had already been built, but it has not been handed over to the civic body, he said.

The cows were still in the compound and 20 quintals of fodder had been arranged for them, the official said, adding that he will be meeting the district collector on Wednesday to inform him about the problem.

Meanwhile, a video of the farmers and residents protesting has also surfaced on social media.

MP is the first state to have a cow cabinet formed in 2020 for the conservation and security of cows in the state.

In 2019, the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh assembly had passed the anti-cow slaughter amendment Act 2019 to ensure a jail term of six months to three years and a fine of ₹25,000-50,000 for those convicted of committing violence in the name of the cow.