MADIKERI: “Siddaramaiah is misguiding people stating that he eats beef. Let him eat beef in front of everyone and prove his statement,” challenged Prabhu Chauhan, the Karnataka Animal Husbandry Minister. He was addressing the press at the DC Office in Madikeri after holding a meeting with Kodagu district administration officials.
“The Opposition leaders’ job is to oppose the government and they always do the same. You think Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy do not worship the cow during Deepavali?” he questioned when asked about not receiving support from Opposition parties for the bill against cow slaughter.
The minister discussed the bill against cow slaughter recently passed by the state and said, “Fines and punishments under the bill have been increased. In 1964, the punishment for illegal culling of cows cost a fine of Rs 1,000 and jail term of six months. However, offenders now will be fined from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh and the jail term has been extended from three years to seven years.”
He added that special courts will be established to fight cow slaughter crimes across the state. He urged officials of various departments including the muzrai, revenue, zilla panchayat and police to cooperate in fighting cow slaughter crimes.
“The administration has been instructed to evict the ‘gomala’ (grazing) lands across the district and hand them over to the Animal Husbandry department,” he confirmed. He said that the state has 188 cattle shelters that are receiving funds from the department. “The private cattle shelters will receive the required help from the department once the firm registers itself,” he revealed.
On controlling the illegal transport of cattle across the border, the minister said that officials from the Animal Husbandry department will be appointed to carry out inspections at the various check-posts in border areas.
While the ambulance and mobile treatment service for cattle – ‘Hasu Sanjeevani’ - has been launched across 15 districts, Kodagu is yet to be facilitated with the same even as the minister assured that the service would be sanctioned soon in the district.
The over 60% vacancy in the district’s department was highlighted during the meeting. “There is nearly 52% vacancy in the department across the state and 60% vacancy in the district’s department. We will ensure recruitments shortly,” he assured.