Summary:
In the past week, there have been at least three incidents of farmers locking up stray cattle in schools and police stations in the state to protest against the stray cattle menace.The state is staring at a severe stray cattle problem, aggravated after the government cracked down on illegal slaughter houses. “I’m not in favour of having this cess on alcohol as it will lead to illegal sales. Local police and administration are to ensure cattle for which there is no use are taken to the shelters and those who abandon cattle are fined. Mandi parishads, which contribute 1% of their income for gau saurakshan (cow protection), will increase this amount to 2%.Under the new policy, temporary cow shelters will be constructed in each rural and urban local body, down to the nagar nigams. LUCKNOW: The UP government has introduced a “gau kalyan” (cow welfare) cess , a 0.5% additional levy on excise items, which could include alcohol apart from toll tax, as well as on several public sector infrastructure companies, to fund construction and maintenance of cow shelters across the state.The UP cabinet cleared the policy on Tuesday..