Stray Cattle Menace Escalates in UP as Farmers Lock Cows in Schools

NEW DELHI: Demonstrating his love for cows, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's had recently given all District Magistrates (DMs) about a week's time to ensure that all stray cattle across the state are shifted to cow shelters.

However, harried by the influx of stray cows which are majorly damaging crops, farmers in various areas in the state have been locking the cattle up in school premises. The stray cows, most of them unproductive, have been abandoned by their owners as maintaining them costs a bomb, and is unaffordable in times of acute agrarian distress.

Predictably, the Chief Minister’s wishes and the farmers’ livelihood needs do not match, leading to escalating tension over dealing with stray cows in UP, aggravated by growing cow vigilantism.

For the firth time in the recent past, farmer have locked up cattle in schools to prevent them from damaging their crops. As per reports,  in some  areas of Kanpur,  angry farmers  allegedly beat up police personnel, pelted them with stones, leading to violence.

Even though farmers have been driven to the wall due to widespread damage to their crops, the CM’s doggedness in furthering the cause of ‘gau raksha’ (cow protection) without making adequate arrangements is escalating into a major row in UP.

On Friday morning, over 50 stray cattle were locked up inside the primary and junior schools of Nagwa village in Bidhnu area. When the police station in-charge intervened and unlocked the gate to get the cattle out, angry farmers allegedly attacked the police with sticks and pelted stones. The superintendent of Police (Rural) Pradyuman Singh had to rush to the spot with forces. The first case of cows being locked up inside a school was also reported from Kanpur’s Guru Ka Purva village in Bidhnu area a few days ago.

Again, on Saturday morning, the children of a primary school in Anantpur Dhaukal village under Jhinjhak block was surprised when they reached the school and found cattle there. As the children panicked, their teacher, sensing some danger, kept them away from the school premises. It was found out that some farmers had locked up the cattle in the school premises and even locked the main gate.

“The students and teachers were attending their classes when a herd of nearly 50 cattle swarmed into the school, leading to panic among the children. When we requested the farmers to take away the cattle, they refused to budge and instead asked us to vacate the premises. We immediately vacated the school and took shelter in a nearby home,” the  headmaster of the school,Sunil Kumar, was quoted as saying by Times of India. 

The Station House Officer of Anantpur Dhaukal told Newsclick that almost 65 stray cattle entered the school. When, the SDM Deepali Kaushik asked the farmers to open the gate and leave, they agreed. Later, the cattle was left  in a jungle. 

Pradyuman Singh told Newsclick, "There were almost 40-50 stray cattle locked in the school. When police reached the spot, the cattle were released them,” adding that. “Some fringe elements in the village pelted stones at the police.” 

Recently in Aligarh, too, over 800 cows were locked inside a government school and primary health centre by farmers as stray cattle have been destroying their crops and farms.