Yogi Adityanath government allocates Rs 247.60 crores for cow shelters in UP budget

Lucknow: In line with their promise to protect cows, the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh allocated Rs 247.60 crores for building cow shelters across UP in the state Bugdet presented in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday. “Rs 247.60 crore has been proposed for maintenance and construction of ‘gaushalas’ (cow shelters) in rural areas,” state Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal said today, according to news agency PTI. “A special cess has been imposed on liquor sales in the state. Out of the cess, estimated revenue of Rs 165 crore will be utilised for maintenance of stray cattle of the state,” he added. The Yogi Adityanath government also allocated an additional Rs 200 crores for ‘Kanha Gaushala’ and ‘Besahara Pashu Ashram’ in urban areas. The UP government also made a provision of Rs 64 crores under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Small Dairy Scheme for the setting up of 10000 dairy units, the PTI report said. Late last month, farmers from Uttar Pradesh's Jikhan village barged into a school and forced over a hundred students to accommodate stray cattle. As many as 110 students were restricted from entering the school premises where 35 cows were locked up by farmers in Mathura barely a week after a similar instance had come to light from Auraiya district. Meanwhile, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh decided to set up 1000 gaushalas in four months to accommodate over one lakh stray cows. Source: Times Now