Featured Image Credits: Udayavani
Karnataka Congress leader Mohiuddin Bava donated an amount of ₹1 lakh towards the Kapila Park Goshala that was demolished by the district administration and the police on 4 March. The demolition had left around 300 heads of cattle stranded without shelter.
On 20 March, Bava, a former MLA from Mangalore City North, handed over a cheque of ₹1 lakh to Prakash Shetty, who runs the cow shelter, to build a temporary shelter for the cattle. Bava said that the BJP government pretends to care for cows but did not do anything after the demolition to protect nearly 300 cows that were left stranded.
Prakash Shetty said that none of the BJP leaders who had attended the inauguration of the goshala had offered any help after the demolition.
Shetty had earlier accused the district administration of demolishing the goshala without any warning. “There are 300 cattle in my goshala. Where should I find an alternative land for the cattle? The least government could have done is to provide an alternate land for the goshala,” he had said.
He said that when bulldozers arrived at the cow shelter for the demolition, only bulls were present, while the cows had gone out for grazing. “It is shocking that a political party, that came to power on the promise of protecting cows, has now destroyed a goshala”, Shetty rued on the day of the demolition.
“This cruel act of the administration and representatives is a betrayal to Hindutva and humanity. They are worse than Mughal rulers,” he had said.
Days after the demolition in Mangaluru, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa announced the state government’s plans to establish cow shelters, to prevent the slaughter of cows and protect livestock, in all 31 districts across the state as he presented the state budget.
Shetty denies any illegality in the running of the shelter
The Kapila Park Goshala had been operating for more than eight years on 19 cents of land in Kenjar on the outskirts of Mangaluru city. It housed cattle of the indigenous Kapila breed. The land is part of the 158 acres of land of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board has earmarked for the proposed Coast Guard Academy.
The goshala was demolished after it was alleged that the land had been bought illegally. During a District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting in February, BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel had directed the district administration to clear the cow shelter within the week.
However, Shetty has denied the allegations that he had built the land illegally. He said there were records showing that he had legally purchased the land from the earlier owner. He also claimed that he managed the goshala using his own funds and had not taken any funds from the government.
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