Explained: Why the Mansa protest in Punjab refuses to die down

The protest is about stray cattle causing accidents on the streets. Since mid-August, six persons have died in Mansa district due to accidents involving stray cattle. Mansa Stray Cattle Struggle Committee was formed to protest against the problem, and Mansa bandh call was given on September 13 after four persons had died in different accidents. During the protest, two more had died taking the toll to six. Gurlabh Singh, convener of this committee and an advocate by profession, said,”We would have ended the dharna after a day’s bandh, but we were not even listened to. Hence we decided to continue it as an indefinite dharna. From September 14, it is continuing as an indefinite dharna at Mansa’s Gurdwara Chowk.”

Why has the protest not ended?

The protest committee members say that a five-member committee was formed by Punjab government after the protest started to look into stray cattle menace, but no meeting of this committee has happened till date. Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra said that a solution will be provided in 15 days time period, but even that has not been provided as cattle are still roaming on roads, told Manish Babbi Danewalia, a commission agent and member of this committee. Gurlabh Singh said,”We are ready to lift all the stray cattle from the roads, but need a place where they should be kept. As government collects cow cess, so they should take care of these stray cattle.”

How is this protest expanding in reach?

Protesters had met RSS’s Gau Sanwardhan unit president Chanderkant, who asked Punjab government to stop importing semen of American breeds and focus on Indian breeds. He told that gaushalas will readily keep desi breeds due to faith associated and hence problem will be sorted immediately. “Committee members made organisations like Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, all political parties come under one common platform who are supporting this protest. Now, protesters have started meetings at village level as well and they are forming 21-member committees at village level. After Diwali, they plan to do a mega rally on this issue in Mansa city. Over 1000 school children had also participated in the protest rally on this cause. During the protest, there was yet another death due to stray cattle and committee members got the family compensation worth Rs 4 lakhs apart from assurance of a job.

Who else is supporting the protest?

Convenor of the protest committee said that they are “getting support from farmer associations of states like UP, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh etc apart from Punjab and we are not likely to relent so soon”.

What is administration doing?

Deputy Commissioner Apneet Riyiat told The Indian Express that stray cattle are being sent to government gaushalas on regular basis depending upon their holding capacity. “Around 300 cattle have been sent to Khokhar gaushala since the start of this protest. The task is still on. Since the capacity of government gaushala at Khokar has reached its peak.. we have identified a new chunk of 5 acres at village Joga. An NGO has been roped in to take care of this new gaushala. Efforts are going on to identify similar chunks in Budhlada and Sardulgarh,” he said. Over charges of cold-shouldering the committee, DC said that there had been two meetings with the protesting groups and they were informed about measures being taken. “Recently, an FIR was also lodged on two people who were bringing cattle to city and attempting to leave them on road,” said the DC. Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, A Venuprasad said,”Efforts are on to resolve this issue and we will get the dharna lifted soon.”

How many stray cattle are there in Mansa?

Mansa is believed to have around 4000 stray cattle, while the number for the entire state is believed to 1.25 lakh.

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