9,261 cattle died in UP shelters in 2019, UP govt says death due to natural causes

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said 9,261 cattle died in various cattle shelters in the state in 2019 but no action was taken against officials concerned as the death was due to natural causes.

Replying to a question raised by BSP member Sushma Patel in the assembly as to how many cattle died in shelters, Animal Husbandry Minister Lakshmir Narayan Chowdhury said, "In 2019, 9261 'govansh' (cattle) died in the state. As all the deaths were natural, no action was taken against any official".

Leader of Opposition and SP member Ram Govind Chowdhury asked, "How did the government ascertain that the deaths were natural without postmortem."

In his reply, the minister accepted that no postmortem was conducted but added that "if any matter comes to his notice he would probe it".

BJP member Surendra Singh said merely chanting "Bharat Mata ki jai" or "Gau mata ki jai" will not do.

"There should be arrangement of persons for taking care of cattle kept in 'Gau Ashray sthal'. Arrangements should not be by mere words but in reality also," he added.