Deeply upset over constant damage caused to their crops by stray cattle, farmers in Kendrapara district staged a novel to draw authorities’ attention by letting loose the cattle in the block and tehsil offices in Rajnagar.
The daily work in both the offices was disrupted for about three hours because of the forced entry of the stray cattle, said officials.
“We locked up the stray cattle in the campuses of both the offices. It was a symbolic protest to send a message to the local administration. The officials have assured of establishing cattle shelter houses to address our grievances” said Deepak Behera, a farmer of Gopalpur village, who took part in the protest.
The cattle menace has assumed alarming proportions in our areas. The animals are destroying standing crops and have become a serious threat to human lives, said Ashok Swain, a farmer of Rajnagar.
“There are genuine grounds for the farmers to stage protests of this nature. We will soon identify land to build a cow shelter where stray animals will be kept”, Bholanath Sethi, Tehsildar Rajnagar said.