In a major step in the direction of cow protection, Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to build cow shelters in prisons. According to India Today report, Yogi government has allocated Rs. 20 million for setting up cow shelters in 12 district jails of the state. Gaushalas will be also opened in 68 districts of the state on an expenditure of Rs. 81.6 crore.
Jai Kumar Singh, State Prison Minister informed that district jails of Meerut, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Balrampur, Noida, Firozabad, Kannauj, Agra, Barabanki, Sitapur and Raebareli have been selected to open shelters. When the cow gets old, poor farmers abandon them as they cannot afford to maintain them. These cow shelters would provide safety and security to the cows. Minister also said, “People will not only get milk but with cow dung, organic vegetables can also be produced. Our prisoners will get fresh milk and vegetables. It will also create a good environment”.
Additional Director General of Prisons Chandraprakash welcomed the step and said, “We have identified the prisons and work will be started soon. Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned for making cow shelters in jails”.
UP BJP spokesperson Dr Chandramohan also welcomed the innovative decision of the Yogi government. He said, “It is Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s resolution to protect cows and that’s why shelters are being made everywhere. A new cow shelter was recently inaugurated in Mirzapur. There is a lot of free space in jails which are being utilized for this purpose”.
The UP government has allotted Rs 1.2 crore to 68 districts of the state to construct cow shelters. Secretary of Gau Seva Aayog, SC Gupta said, “All the 7 districts in Bundelkhand region were given Rs 10 crore for cow protection. Rs 1.2 crore will be given to 68 districts of the state under this scheme. The first instalment of Rs 50 lakh has been released.”
Setting up of cow shelters would not only benefit cows, it will also benefit the prisoners. This is a good technique to keep the prisoners occupied and it will also give them a sense of purpose and will help them to reform. This shelter will also give the cows protection from the cow smugglers. Cow smugglers have become a menace and is creating law and order problems. Few years back in Mathura cow smugglers killed two policemen who tried to stop them.
Last year, a British resident and her female friend were attacked by cow smugglers in Gurugram. Many such incidents happened across the country but media does not pay any heed to it. But when a cow smuggler is killed in an encounter than the hinduphobic media creates a huge outrage. For hinduphobic media life of cow smuggler is more important than life of innocent ordinary citizen and police men.
Even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has not shown any concern for the cows. So this innovative step of the Yogi government to combine both cow and prison would benefit both the cows and the prisoners and would definitely have a positive outcome. Other government should also consider implementing this idea.