Nagalia Ballu, Chandausi, Sambhal, Nighasan, Lakhimpur Kheri
The damage to crops caused by stray cattle in the state has been one of the major issues in this election. It is difficult to fully predict what impact the issue will have but farmers from western Uttar Pradesh (UP) to Rohilkand and the Terai region do not miss any opportunity to air their resentment on it.
While I was looking for the caravan of Gulab Devi, the MLA from Chandausi and state minister, secondary education department, in the UP government who was moving from one village to another for her election campaign, I got to see in the village of Nagalia Ballu, about 20km from Chandausi, what you can see in the photo accompanying the story. The farmers have made fencing of old saris to protect their crops from stray cattle. The reason for this may be that it is an economical ploy or it is possible that colourful saris keep the cattle off. From western UP to Rohilkhand and the Terai region, I got to hear stories of how the farmers struggle to protect their crops from the menace of stray cattle. Ratiram, one of the farmers here, says, “What can we do? We somehow protect the fields all night.”
Says Ram Aasare, a farmer from Bada Gaon that we encountered earlier in our journey, “Stray cattle have become a menace here. Farmers both small and big are agitated by it. The claims made by the government of trying to stop the menace by building gaushalas (cow shelters) are far from the truth.” The Dalit farmer who has retired from a government job as a tube-well operator says that the issue of stray cattle will impact the votes.
Gulab Devi, MLA from Chandausi and state minister, secondary education department, UP
Gulab Devi, who is a minister in the state government, is the BJP MLA from Chandausi. She has won the seat four consecutive times and is contesting the election for the fifth time. When I speak to her outside the village, she looks worried and admits that stray cattle are a huge menace. Speaking about the government-built gaushalas, she says that she would go for strict action against them if voted to power because they leave the cattle to go astray at night.
She seems somewhat unsettled this time as the Samajwadi Party (SP) has given the ticket to Vimalesh, who comes from the Jatav community. Chandausi is a reserved constituency and Gulab Devi belongs to the Dhobi (washermen) community. Her fraternity has about 15,000 votes. The Muslims, who number 84,000, are in a position to influence the results. The Jatav community has 65,000 votes while the Yadavs have 22,000. The contest has thus become difficult. However, Gulab Devi claims that she gets votes across the castes and communities and has, therefore, little to worry about.
In fact, the menace of stray cattle has turned into a big problem for the farmers in this election. A few months ago, a strategist from one of the political parties wanted to know from this writer whether his party would stand to gain in the election if it announced cash compensation for the loss incurred due to cattle menace.
Tejpal, a farmer from the Tajpur Simbhalka village that falls in the Shamli district, asks me to take a photo of the herd of bulls sitting on the road. He says, “We have to stay in our fields all night to prevent them from entering.” Wherever you go, farmers are heard telling similar tales. Keemat Singh, a farmer from the Singapur village that comes under the Kairana Assembly constituency, is also worried by the same problem.
Fateh Singh, Kharwaiya Farm No. 2, Nighasan Road
Fateh Singh, a farmer from Kharwaiya Farm No. 2 under the Nighasan Road Assembly constituency of Lakhimpur Kheri that is some 200km away from Chandausi, says, “The stray cattle are destroying the fields. Even the least laxity on our part sees them damaging the standing crops.” On being asked about the solution to this, he says, “Nobody is doing anything about this. Everything boils down to votes. This is what has upset the farmers.”
In fact, the menace of stray cattle has increased with the government strictly enforcing the cattle protection law. Those engaged in cattle trade and transporting them have to face various problems. An army of cattle protectors has come up across the state who are very aggressive on this issue. Although the government claims to have opened gaushalas across the state in order to protect the cattle, the ground reality is otherwise. Farmers across the state have to visit their fields at night along with torches.
To what extent the issue will impact the elections can be known only when the results come. But it is interesting to note what the aforementioned farmer from Nagalia Ballu says. “They would steal our animals earlier. Thieves took away two of our buffaloes from outside the village and we could not stop them as they fired at us. The law and order is fine now. So, we will vote for the BJP.” It is a separate issue that not all farmers are of one opinion and their resentment due to this menace may impact the votes.