AMC increases payment to panjrapols for sheltering captured cows

Ahmedabad: In order to curb the menace of stray cattle in the city, the cattle control department of the city’s civic body is impounding a high number of stray cattle. Consequently, the three cattle ponds managed by the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) have become overcrowded. To alleviate the burden of maintaining these cows, a decision has been made that if any Panjrapole (Gausahala) takes in 750 cows, the facility owners will be compensated with Rs. 7,000 as maintenance costs which was previously Rs. 4,000.

Previously, the AMC provided a one-time maintenance payment of Rs. 4,000 for each cow housed in the enclosures. Cattle whose owners did not retrieve them were placed in these enclosures. In response to a High Court order, the municipality revised its policies to address the issue of cattle straying in the city.

Under the new policy, a total of 7166 animals have been captured, and police complaints have been lodged against 207 individuals. However, there have been reports indicating a decline in donations to Panjarapols following the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of cattle feed has increased, subsequently raising transportation costs for petrol and diesel. Currently, transporting six animals to Panjarapols costs between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,500. Considering that other municipal corporations like Gandhinagar offer a maintenance cost of Rs. 7,000 per animal, there’s a proposal to increase the compensation. DeshGujarat