“Strongly condemning” what it termed was “politics” being played by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue of gaushalas , the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday argued that problems related to such facilities could not be tackled by “simply visiting” them.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta argued that the responsibility of looking after gaushalas rested with the Delhi government and could not be “tackled by simply visiting a gaushala ” as cows were “forced to roam and sit on roads causing accidents” due to paucity of space.
“I have raised the issue of increasing the capacity of the existing gaushalas and opening new ones in the Capital a number of times, but the Kejriwal government did not take any action in relation to the matter; the problem of cows occupying the roads, creating filth and accidents...persists and...the people of Delhi continue to suffer [in addition to cows],” alleged Mr. Gupta.
Adequate fodder
Stating that he would also raise the issue of loaf cattle in different areas of Delhi in the Assembly, Mr. Gupta argued that making proper and adequate fodder available for cows in gaushalas was the responsibility of the Kejriwal government which was, he alleged, on the one hand not releasing funds for the purpose and on the other wanted to “avoid its own responsibility by passing on the blame” to the civic bodies.
‘CM least aware’
While Mr. Kejriwal spoke about visiting gaushalas in Haryana, Mr. Gupta alleged, the Chief Minister was “least aware of their bad condition in Delhi” which happened to be ruled by his own party.
“I urged Mr. Kejriwal to visit various parts of the Capital to see the roads occupied by the cattle. Cows are forced to come onto the streets as there is no space available in cow shelters where civic agencies can send them,” Mr. Gupta said.
He also appealed to the government to “rise above politics” and take steps for increasing the capacity of existing cow shelters and open new ones with proper arrangements to keep them and to provide proper fodder.
