Cow census to stop smuggling!

The Committee for Saving Cows in West Bengal has adopted an unusual tactic to check smuggling of cows to Bangladesh ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Claiming to be pro-BJP, the central ruling party, the committee has announced it would launch a cow census in the bordering villages of the Indian state on August 1.

About 5,000 workers will conduct the census in two phases before and after the Eid which falls on mid-September. This would help the committee find out how many cows went missing during the period.

However, the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has announced it would resist the move politically.

Speaking at a rally in Kolkata on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed fear that the initiative could lead to a communal riot between Hindus and Muslims in the state.

Subrata Gupta, president of Committee for Saving Cows, said every year several thousand cows are smuggled to Bangladesh to be slaughtered during Eid and it need to be stopped.

“After Eid, we will go door to door to see whether the cows already counted were still there. If we find that any cow was missing, we would check necessary papers to ascertain the reason for the sale of the cow. If we don't have satisfactory answers, we would lodge an FIR with the police station concerned about the missing cow,” he added.

He said workers will keep strict vigilance at every entry and exit points along the border to prevent smuggling of cows.

About the slaughtering of cows, he said although it is not banned in West Bengal, it must be ensured that it is done in line with specific rules. 

Explaining the rules, Gupta said a cow can be slaughtered if it is 14 years old, free from any diseases and not pregnant. A veterinary doctor needs to look into these issues.

In most of the cases, cows are sold at the ago of four and smuggled out, he added.

According to the committee chief, Mamata Banerjee recently directed the local administrations of every bordering district to prevent smuggling of cows.

“As citizens of India, it is our duty to prevent smuggling of cows,” he said, adding he was surprised by the opposition from the chief minister.

West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh argued that if an organisation can conduct a tiger census, others should have the right to carry out one on cows.