Ensure stray animals, sent to 'Gau Sanrakshan Kendras' by Jan 10: Yogi to DMs

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed all the district magistrates to ensure that stray animals, including cattle, are transported to 'Gau Sanrakshan Kendras' by January 10, an official said Thursday.

Addressing the district magistrates (DMs) through video conferencing on Wednesday night, Adityanath said they should ensure that farmers and residents do not face any problems due to stray cattle. Kanji Houses in every district would be renamed 'Gau Sanrakshan Kendras'.

"Those leaving their cattle on roads should be dealt with strictly and fine should be imposed on them when they come to take their cattle from such centres," the chief minister said. Adityanath said help from traders, businessmen and people's representatives should be sought in running these 'Gau Sanrakshan Kendras'.

The state government has been under some pressure from farmers protesting over stray cattle destroying their crops.

Over the past week, people in at least two villages in western UP's Aligarh and Firozabad districts rounded up stray cattle and locked them up in government schools, refusing to let classes run until the administration did something about the animals.