Farmers march bulls and cows for protest to draw authorities’ attention in Orissa India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

A group of farmers in Orissa staged a unique protest by marching around 30 cows and bulls to the Block Development Officer's (BDO) office on Saturday to highlight the damage caused to their farms by stray animals. “We, the farmers are facing hell of problem because of these stray bulls and cows. They have destroyed our cultivation of hundreds of acres of land. We had brought this to the Government notice but nobody listened to us. So we have caught around 20 bulls from different places and brought them to the BDO's office. Today, we demanded that unless these bulls are removed, we would sit and protest, "said Tapan swain, a farmer. However, the Block development officer expressed helplessness saying the bulls and cows belong to farmers only. "It is their cow and their bull, eating their crop. So, what can we do? In fact they have given me the memorandum and I have forwarded it to the veterinary department. They will take care of this," said Nigamanda Panda, Block Development Officer. Farmers complained that for last two to three years, the problem has become quite acute. The bulls are destroying their paddy fields. Also, due to irregular rain, the crops had already been affected and the left crops were being destroyed by the bulls. People in the districts of Naharkanta and Marichipur Panchayat in Orissa, say their areas have been badly affected due to bull menace.