BJP problem: As UP elections move eastward, so do herd of stray cattle
As the election in Uttar Pradesh (above) moved to the east, ‘Awara Pashu’ or lost livestock became the stronger the problem with the privacy of the Bharatiya Janata Party in power (BJP).
The reason is simple: the West-up is mostly buffalo belt, while the livestock population – cattle and descendants – published as one to the east. Thus, the number of buffalo in Agra (10.67 lakh), bulandshahr (9.72 lakh) and Aligarh (9.42 lakh), according to the livestock census for 2019, far exceeds cattle – at 2.83 lakh, respectively – for these three districts. This is the opposite, with more livestock than the buffalo, at Gorakhpur (2.87 lakh versus 2.53 lakh), Deoria (2.88 lakh vs. 1.91 lakh) and mirzapur (5.11 lakh vs. 2.88 lakh ).
The effect of the prohibition of livestock slaughter – strict enforcement by the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath – clearly visible on the ground.
According to Ramchandra Tripathi, a farmer from Basevarai in Harraiya Tehsil from the Basti district, wild livestock was not in his village five years ago. “Today, we have 50-60 Saand (Bulls),” said a 57-year-old player who fostered sugar cane at 50, wheat at 22, mustard at 18 and various kinds of vegetables and feed in the remaining 100-BIGHA (20 hectares)) holds . Indian Express only calculates a dozen animals devouring mustard standing in the nearest field.
“They have destroyed mekuku in 3 out of 5 BIGHA,” complained of Shiv Prasad Verma, who also planted mustard at 3 and sugar cane again at 2 BIGHA. “Five years ago, we all shouted the Gau Hatya Band Karo (stop the slaughter of cows) and chose BJP both in 2017 (assembly selection) and 2019 (for Lok Sabha). But this time, we are fully behind Triyambak Nath Pathak (Party Candidates Samajwadi from Harraiya). The only reason is Awara Pashu, “Sudhir Kumar Tiwari (25), which fostered wheat at 10, sticks at 5, Mustard at 3 and Masuan (Lentil) at 2 out of a total of 20 BIGHA.
Plant damage by wild livestock is not a major problem in the Pre-Yogi government period, because of the prohibition of massacre mostly on paper. But as a number of strays – male oxen, male and non-milk cattle calves are released by the farmers themselves – have doubled from time to time, the political fall can be bigger in the ‘West’ Buffalo ‘belt. The indicator was the BJP Prime Minister of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Unnao on Sunday, where he promised a new policy to overcome “Chutta Jaanvaron SE Pareshani (animal difficulties)” after March 10, when the results of the ingoing poll came out.
