Scarcity of Water,Fodder Killing Cows

Heatwave hits Goshalas as animal husbandry dept fails to supply subsidised fodder

HYDERABAD: The severe heat wave sweeping across Telangana is taking a toll on the cattle as well and the lives of 65,000 to 68,000 head of cattle in Goshalas are in a pitiable condition due to severe scarcity of water and non-availability of fodder as the state government is not able to supply water or fodder to the cattle.

Unable to provide water and fodder to the cattle in the villages, farmers are left with no option but to sell their cattle in the markets and to slaughterhouses.

There are 59 Goshalas and another 80 unregistered small Goshalas in the state, Telangana Goshala Federation president Mahesh Agarwal has told Express.

“The department of animal husbandry has miserably failed to supply fodder at subsidy rates to the Goshalas notified by the government. We have made several requests to the state government authorities to come to the rescue of the cattle but the response from the government is not encouraging though the federation is ready to spend additional amount to buy fodder for the cattle but the department is not heeding our request,” he said.

“The government declared 231 mandals as drought-hit and as many as 66 Goshalas are situated in these drought-hit mandals. Though it is the paramount duty of the animal husbandry department to save the cattle by supplying fodder and water, it has failed to take relief measures,” he added.

“Due to scarcity of water and fodder, a large number of head of cattle have died due to starvation. In the past, Goshalas used to feed cows with fodder twice a day but now just once a day. The fodder being procured by Goshalas is contaminated and not fit for consumption. But the Andhra Pradesh government is able to supply fodder on subsidy rates at ` 3.50 per kilo but in Telangana there is no supply of fodder at subsidy rates,” he added.       

In villages where Goshalas are situated, locals are stopping water tankers going to Goshalas. The contention of the villagers is that when human beings are not able to get potable drinking water to consume, how the sarpanches and village authorities could supply water to cattle sheds. In remote villages, however, where there is little resistance from people, water is supplied by tankers five days after booking. With great difficulty some Goshalas are managing with bore water but the situation may turn worse when the bores dry up. Then the survival of cattle would be at stake, Agarwal warned.

Heatwave Claims 2 Lives in Medak

Sangareddy: Medak district recorded a temparature of 42.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The heatwave claimed two lives in the district, one Gopal (48) from Pagdipally of Narayankhed and Vykuntam (52) from Dacharam village of Gajwel mandal.

Citizens Prefer to Stay Indoors

Adilabad: The heatwave continues unabated in the district, with a temperature of 43.3 degree celsius being recorded on Tuesday. In Adilabad, the busy market areas like Gandhi chowk, Ambedkar chowk, Netaji chowk were deserted from 11 am to 6 pm. People are also cancelling their planned tours. In the coal belt area of Mancherial, 44 degrees Celsius was recorded. Till know, the official death toll due to sunstroke is 11, whereas the unofficial toll is much higher, at 27.

Temperature Drops in City

Hyderabadis got some respite from the scorching heat as the city recorded a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The highest temperature dropped by one degree as 43 degrees was recorded in Adilabad and Warangal. Ramagundam recorded 42 and Khammam 41 degrees Celsius.

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