CHITRADURGA: A severe shortage of fodder at the goshala (cattle shelter) at Turuvanuru created panic among who farmers who took away paddy hay that arrived on Saturday morning.
The cow shelter which was expected to receive 10 truckloads of fodder received only three loads. This resulted in panic. Within seconds of the arrival of the trucks, the farmers took the hay away.
Tahsildar Mallikarjun told Express that the shortage of hay on Friday evening was due to continuous rain. However, the problem is now set right and the situation is normal, he said.
He also said there is no dearth of funds for procurement of fodder and farmers should cooperate with the district administration.
Deputy director of veterinary and animal husbandry department B Prasanna Kumar said: “Till last week, there were about 3,000 cattle at the shelter. However in the last four days, there has been an increase in the number mainly because of arrivals from Jagalur, Koppal and Ballari districts. Currently, there are 9,600 cattle heads at the shelter.”
He also said about 40 tonnes of fodder is being supplied everyday to the cattle shelter, which is equal to 10 trucks. About the panic situation at Turuvanuru, he said: “Each farmer carried around 30-40 kg of fodder and stocked in his cow shed. This situation has arisen because of the shortage of fodder. However, everything is calm now.”