Farmers selling cattle at loss

GADAG: Severe shortage of goshalas in the drought-hit Gadag district and other surrounding areas is forcing farmers to sell their cattle at a lesser price. There are five goshalas in Gadag district, which accommodated around 607 cattle as of mid-April. This accounts for 0.26 per cent of the total 2.3 lakh cattle population in the district. “The goshalas are not close-by and is not easily accessible. The prices of hay has become Rs 10,000-12,000 per truck. There is scarcity of water. In such a scenario. It is not ideal for us to keep these animals,” said Dyamana Gowda Dohni, a farmer. Dohni has sold two of his cows at a cost of Rs 8,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively to repay   debts that he had incurred during the drought. “The grown up cattle would have fetched me Rs 20,000 each,” Dohni said. The situation is no different in Raichur, Belgaum and Gulbarga. The state has 52 goshalas which provide shelter to around 26,800 cattle. Out of these, 12 are in Chitradurga and three in Gulbarga. Both these places were severely affected by drought. “It is not ideal for the department to set up goshalas in every village. There is enough supply of fodder in the district and there are 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of fodder which could last for another 17 weeks. So, the situation is not that bad,” said  DC Panduranga Bommaiah Naik.