RAIPUR: Foul smell spreading in some localities of Kopra nagar panchayat in Gariaband district, Chattisgarh, was traced back to cow carcasses dumped on the banks of river Pairi after a preliminary investigation on Saturday.The locals claimed that over two dozen corpses of cows were found at the riverbank. Some corpses were found in advanced stages of decomposition. The cattle reportedly belonged to a cow-shelter run by an NGO owned by Haldhar Sahu. “Prima-facie it appears to be due the negligence of the organisation that was operating the gau-shala where the cows were kept. The owner has been summoned to appear for interrogation on Monday. There was no arrangement of fodder in the gau-shala and we immediately got it for the cattle”, said Vishal Maharana, sub-divisional magistrate.Around 150 cattle are still left in the cow-shelter and they are being examined by a team for veterinary doctors, said Deepak Agrawal, Gariaband collector.“The cow shelter at Kopra was earlier run by the villagers and later an NGO took over. The death of cows happened over a period of days. An SDM is conducting an inquiry into it. The information so far with me is that 19 cows have died. Further details are awaited. The post-mortem reports suggested the cows died owing to starvation and ageing,” the collector told TNIE.The eyewitnesses stated that the condition of some of the living cows remains extremely pathetic, and if not given immediate attention, their chances of survival are slim. A regional newspaper quoting the local residents stated that whenever any cow died in the gau-shala, their corpses were quietly disposed of at the river side. “With no fodder and water kept at the shelter for 150 cows, it appeared they (NGO) were waiting for the weak cattle to die,” the paper stated.According to the district officials, no case has been registered as a detailed report is awaited.
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