Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 23: Alleging violation of the directives pertaining to transfer of cattle stock following closure of Jammu Military Farm at Belicharana, Ex- Servicemen State Dairy Co-operative has sought procurement of cows from the farm in conformity with the norms laid down by the Government.
Talking to media persons, here today, M S Thakur, President of Ex-Servicemen State Dairy Co-operative, pleaded to save cows from cruelty in the closed Military Farms. Pointing out that the closure order categorically directed the authorities to transfer the respective cattle to Central/ State Government departments or State co-operatives, he regretted that cows of Udhampur and Nowshera Military Farms were distributed among SC/ST farmers and mule operators while 750 cows of Fieswal breed were still lying in Jammu Military Farm for being sold to outside States. “350 cows have been recently transported in trucks and dispatched to Manipur in circumvention of the directives issued by the Defence Ministry. Why have they been sent to far flung North East State? Are we not competent to procure the cows being a Dairy Co-operative in Jammu?” asked Thakur.
He revealed that Ex-Servicemen State Dairy Co-operative besides more than 850 farmers had applied for the procurement of the cattle stock but the concerned authorities neither considered the Co-operative nor those who had submitted the applications. S L Bhat, General Secy of the Co-operative, alleged that the cattle stock dispatched to Manipur was brutally dragged and loaded into the trucks in the most barbaric manner. “We fear whether these cows would survive or die in absence of fodder and water during the transit, which would take 12-14 days”, he said.
He said that the State Dairy Co-operative despite having adequate facilities and sheds for the upkeep of the cattle stock besides expansion of dairy supply in J&K has been deliberately divested from procuring the animals from the Military Farm. “Termination of the Military Farm workers in Jammu region and transportation of respective cattle to North Eastern State seemed to be a well hatched conspiracy by the unscrupulous elements to sub serve their vested interests,” said Bhat and urged the J&K Lt Governor to intervene and rescue the remaining lot of the cows in Jammu Military Farm.
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