SHILLONG: Not less than 1000-1200 seized cattle, which were meant to be smuggled to Bangladesh, have died in several areas along the Indo-Bangla border in the state in one-and-a-half years, and as these cattle are buried in civilian areas, many locals fear that it may lead to spread of diseases in the area.
A BSF personnel, who guards the Indo-Bangla border, said that recently around 1,500 cattle heads were seized in areas of Lyngkhat, Pyrdiwah and Nayar Bazar and since July 2019, however, they have not been disposed of.
“Neither these cattle were disposed of by the state government nor any arrangement was made, and interestingly, the doctors from the Animal and Husbandry department have never come here to check their health condition,” the BSF personnel said.
Informing that despite the BSF holding meetings with the officials of the state government right from the level of SDO to secretary of the department, the state government has taken no action for many months.
It was also informed that BSF has a camp of around three acres and it is not possible for them to keep 1,000 cattle and hence, they are kept in civilian areas and the state government has not given a rupee one rupee for taking care of these cattle.
The Supreme Court, in its August 2017 order, had directed that the sale of cattle would be made in consonance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules, 2017. Under the legislation, the state police officers are empowered to make seizure and hence, compliance of provisions of the PCA Rules for sale can only be done by state police officers.
Following the passing of the order, BSF personnel informed that they have seized around 5,000 cattle heads in the area, out of which, they still have around 2,000 and 1,500 have died while the remaining 1,500 have been auctioned.
“As these cattle are buried there, it has started give out foul odour and the state government is not paying any attention on this matter. We fear that it may lead to some kind of sickness,” the BSF personnel said.
It was also informed that the BSF, despite writing more than 50 letters and holding 15-20 meetings, is not being supported by the government.
Maintaining that the onus is on the government to look after these cattle, the officials questioned as to how they are moving beyond the butchery.
“These cattle are brought to Meghalaya from one entry point but there are hundreds of exit routes to smuggle them to Bangladesh and the matter should be looked after by the government right at the entry of the state,” the BSF personnel said.
Echoing similar views, a citizen of Dawki, who has been doing social work in the area for past many years, lamented that cattle are dying almost every day, adding that on Tuesday itself, five more died.
The resident also said that these cattle are sick and are dying since last 7-8 months and there is a big risk of spreading of some disease if immediate measures are not taken in this regard.
When contacted, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said that as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the government has activated Meghalaya State Animal Welfare Board, and the board held a meeting and discussed the matter in detail.
Informing that the state government has also constituted the District Animal Welfare Board under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioners, he added that the matter pertaining to the seized cattle was discussed with the secretary of the department on Monday.
“We have given around Rs 40 lakh to the DCs of both the East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills for taking care of the cattle,” Tynsong said.
According to Tynsong, there are not less than 2,000 cattle with BSF as of now and government has issued instructions to temporarily activate the Animal Welfare Board to make sure that the seized cattle are properly fed in bordering areas.
“We have also instructed respective DCs to make sure that there is no outbreak of any unwanted disease,” Tynsong said.
Stating that blame game will not lead to any solution, he said that as per the Supreme Court directive, these cattle cannot be pushed to any animal welfare organisation but since the state does not have one, he has asked some NGOs to properly register themselves and take over these cattle.
“We could have used these cattle for farming but 100 per cent of them are only for slaughtering as they are very old,” he said.
With regard to the issue of illegal smuggling of cattle from the state to Bangladesh, Tynsong was surprised as to how smugglers manage to pass through Byrnihat and smuggle the animals to Bangladesh.
“We have given instructions to police to make sure that such smuggling should not happen,” Tynsong said.
