VIJAYAWADA:The number of cows that died of food poisoning at Goshala located in the Arjuna Street on the foothills of Indrakeeladri, the abode of Goddess Durga in the city, rose to 17 Thursday. The condition of 10 more animals is critical.
Since Wednesday night, eight more animals have succumbed to suspected tympanites (gaseous indigestion), also known as Blot, apparently caused due to feeding of expired ‘Bombay rava’ stock brought by some unidentified persons.
“We are keeping a close watch and continuing to administer Ringers Lactate along with other medicines to balance PH levels. Some are showing signs of recovery and we will continue the treatment until all the animals recover,” veterinarian treating the animals at Goshala said. The staff of veterinary hospital and animal husbandry department have been monitoring the situation round-the-clock for the last two days.
The Goshala management committee has now got its act together to discuss the steps to be taken to see that such incidents do not recur. On the other hand, several people are criticising the donor, who had sent the outdated ‘Bombay rava’, for feeding to the cows. They are finding fault with the caretakers for not keeping an eye on what is being fed to the animals.
Asked why there was no food regulation at Goshala, Prasad, a member of Vijayawada Go Samrakshana Sangham (VGSS), said it was difficult to stop the devotees from feeding the animals due to sentiments attached to it. “We do not want to offend them and many claim that they have been giving food to the cows for years but nothing happened,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vijayawada One Town police registered a case against 41 people, including 39 members of Goshala management committee, Goshala incharge Lavanya and Bhavani Traders owner K Sambasiva Rao under IPC Sec 429 (Mischief by killing or maiming cattle, etc., of any value or any animal).
“We have verified the CCTV camera footage at the Goshala and found that ‘Bombay rava’ packets, which were fed to the cows, were brought from Bhavani Traders in a goods carrier. We have booked a case against Bhavani Traders owner, Goshala in-charge and management committee members. We have sent the samples of food given to the cattle to food quality control department for testing. Once its report, along with that of post-mortem examination, comes out, we will initiate action against the accused as per law,” One Town CI P Narasimhulu told Express.