‘If Govt fails to Take Action against Cattle Traffickers Hindu Organizations will Act’ – Sharan Pumpwell
Udupi: “It is the responsibility of the government and district administration to care for the cattle rescued during illegal trafficking but nothing is being done in this regard. It is the responsibility of the Deputy Commissioner of respective districts to ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act since the DC heads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The deputy commissioner should ensure that not a single cow is slaughtered by properly enforcing the provisions of all the relevant acts”, said Sharan Pumpwell secretary of Vishva Hindu Parishad. He was addressing the protesters at the protest against Cattle Trafficking and Illegal Slaughtering in front of Taluk office Udupi on July 3.
Addressing the protesters Sharan Pumpwell said, “The illegal transportation of cattle is rampant in Udupi and DK districts. The issue of illegal transportation of cattle resulted in communal violence in 2006. If the authorities fail to take strict measures against the cattle traffickers the same situation may reoccur. The authorities should take immediate measures. In DK and Udupi, only one slaughterhouse operates legally at Kudroli in Mangaluru where only 10-12 cattle are slaughtered every day. However, the twin districts have more than 1,000 beef stalls according to an RTI query. In that case, where do they get the meat for all the meat stalls? This indicates that illegal slaughterhouses are functioning throughout the state. Our activists have more knowledge about it than the police, and we keep informing them about such activities.” he said.
He flayed the district administration and the police for not taking any action to check illegal transportation of cattle despite information to the authorities. “If the concerned authorities do not take any measures to control the illegal transportation of cattle, then the Hindu organizations will deal with it in their own way. In case the incidents of communal violence recur in the district in connection to the cattle trade issue, we should not be blamed,” he said.
“Majority Hindus revere cow as a holy animal and that their sentiments must be respected. We have submitted memorandums to the Police department and also the district administration several times in the past, urging to initiate measures to check the trafficking of cattle. However, every time we received a negative reply.
