Bilaspur, Sep 28 (PTI) Six cattle died at a temporary shelter in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district over the last two days, with officials suspecting that lack of grazing, mud accumulation after heavy rainfall, and dirty water at the shelter caused illness.
Villagers, however, claimed that around 30 animals died at the facility.
Joint Director of Veterinary Services (Bilaspur), Dr Gopal Sharan Singh Tanwar, said a team of veterinary doctors visited the temporary cattle shelter in Jhalmala village in Sipat area after receiving information about the deaths and assessed the situation.
The team found that three cattle died on Saturday and three more on Sunday, taking the total number of deaths to six, he said.
Prima facie, the deaths were caused by the cattle not being allowed out for grazing due to continuous rainfall, while accumulation of mud and dirty water at the shelter led to exposure to cold and illness, he said.
Around 300 cattle were present at the shelter when the veterinary team inspected the site, the official said.
He said the shelter was set up with the consent and cooperation of the village sarpanch and locals to protect crops from stray cattle.
“Excessive rainfall caused waterlogging and accumulation of mud at the shelter, affecting the condition of the land,” Tanwar said.
The veterinary team conducted health checks of all the cattle at the shelter and is monitoring their health, he said.
Villagers, meanwhile, claimed that 23 cattle died on Saturday and around seven more on Sunday, putting the death toll at 30.
Rejecting the claim, Tanwar said the cattle are being monitored for their health and safety.
Keeping the safety of the cattle in mind, the Jhalmala village sarpanch has also been instructed to avoid keeping around 300 animals together in one place and to arrange to keep them in separate locations, he said.
He said the sarpanch has been directed to make arrangements for taking the cattle out for grazing so they remain healthy.
Bilaspur Collector Sanjay Agrawal has directed officials to ascertain the facts of the matter, officials said.
Last month, six cattle had died at a panchayat-run shelter in Okhar village under the Masturi development block in Bilaspur district. An inquiry suggested old age as the cause in most cases, while waterlogging due to heavy rainfall was also observed during an inspection. PTI Cor TKP NSK
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