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Sreekanth Jakkaraju (Sri Krishna Purusottama Das)
Video: https://youtu.be/Nhz0iHV3Ktg
Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ubvZpp83-A9ErbXLTKALj_i1vnLh0yA1
Summers are harsh in the north-west region of India which includes the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat (especially its northern belt). In recent years, it has turned harsher due to anthropogenic climate change.[i] While humans have the means to cope with rising temperatures, the cows do not. They thus suffer and die due to insufficient fodder and water. Every day in the summer, hundreds of cows in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan die due to lack of water and fodder.[ii]
This year, more than 1,00,000 cows have already been lost. The sight of dead young cows and dried cow carcasses has become common in the villages across this region. Hearing of this grave tragedy from reliable sources, Dr. Sree Kumar, a veterinary doctor and cow care specialist from Kerala along with Sreekanth Jakkaraju, Founder and Board of Director of California, USA-based non-profit organization (Sustainable Eco Alliance (SEA) Inc.,) and Vinodh Valluri, a SEA Inc consultant and Environmental Scientist from Telangana, travelled to villages across Barmer over the past week to assess the situation.
In response to the tragedy of cows, His Holiness Vishvadhiraja Tirtha Swamiji, the Pithadhipathi of the Raja Rajeshwara Samsthana (Udupi, Karnataka), a disciple of the current presiding Swamiji of the Sri Pejavara Mutt, Udupi, has been staying in Barmer, Rajasthan for close to a month, raising funds for their fodder by urging the local government to provide for the cows.
He states that more than 400 starving and weak cows have been moved for treatment and recuperation to the Pathmeda Gau Chikitsalaya, a cow care centre set up at Barmer, Rajasthan. The Pathmeda Gaushala team in Barmeralong with the Swamiji collected and distributed around 20 truckloads of fodder to the afflicted cows across the region.
Truckloads of fodder has also been donated by Sustainable Eco Alliance (SEA) Inc., a USA-based non-profit organization. It has given an opportunity to the NRI donors to support the cause, and thus also push the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign, a global campaign focusing on cow protection (started by His Holiness RP Bhakti Raghava Swami, Minister, ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry– India.).
After a protest organized outside the local collector’s office in Barmer, the government has announced the allocation of 30 crore INR for the provision of fodder and water. We hope and pray for swift and fair disbursal of funds as we cannot afford to lose any more cows. We, therefore, urge for immediate action by the governments to ensure fair, immediate, and sufficient provision of fodder and water across all the affected areas.
We must note that it is quite unfortunate that so many cows have died under the state government led by Congress government and we request central government led by Modiji of the Bharatiya Janata Party which often is accused of being strongly biased towards cow protection to take immediate action on this. We hope that they do the needful to address the issue in all seriousness. In addition to the immediate action, we also request that the government makes the needed research and planning to ensure that the tragedy does not repeat itself in future. We also request the mainstream media to broadcast the severity of the situation prevailing in the state.
Meanwhile, we too are carefully and systematically devising permanent solutions to the problem of cow deaths by identifying and addressing the root cause/s and will soon release a set of tentative recommendations for governments, local leaders, and cow herders.
[Sreekanth Jakkaraju (Sri Krishna Purusottama Das) is a Member, VHS California, Member, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and Founder and Program Director, Sustainable Eco Alliance (SEA) Inc. (USA), a California-based non-profit organization that has been actively promoting the protection of cows through advisory services, activism, and organization of events such as the Cow Culture Conference which was held in Milpitas, California in May 2018 with support from VHS California.]
[i]https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl1710/17101230.htm
[ii]https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/cattle-deaths-mount-in-barmer-jaislamer/articleshow/58287597.cms
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