In the midst of reports of right-wing cow vigilante groups attacking minorities in different parts of the State and the country, Rafiq Ahmed, Congress MLA for Tumakuru City, chose to celebrate his 50th birthday in a goshala by feeding cattle.

While his birthday celebration could be seen as a symbolic repartee to right-wing groups stereotyping minority community leaders, the thrust of his effort, he said, was to show solidarity with farmers struggling to cope with drought.

“I wanted to celebrate my birthday in a simple way. The region is reeling under the worst drought in 45 years, and I wanted to do my bit to mitigate the woes of cattle and farmers,” said Dr. Ahmed.

He was joined by his wife, Aisha Sultana, and workers from his party as he donated 12 tonnes of fodder, which will be used to feed the cattle in the goshala at Thovinakere. He also distributed fodder to farmers who had brought their cattle to the shelter.

Shankrappa, a farmer from Soorenahalli in Koratagere taluk, said, “We are happy that he has travelled here from the city and chose to spend his birthday with us … The crisis has resulted in a shortage of fodder and food.” Mr. Shankrappa was forced to bring four buffaloes to the shelter as his three acres of land has gone barren.

“This shelter has saved us and our cattle. Otherwise, more than half the farmers in nearby villages would be forced to sell their cattle to slaughterhouses,” he said.

Dr. Ahmed announced financial assistance for the family of farmer Kaavalappa who had allegedly committed suicide because of mounting loans.

The goshala on Friday saw more than 2,000 cows and buffaloes brought by around 1,500 farmers who have been struggling to feed the animals because of their financial situation.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by S. Bhuvaneshwari / Tumakuru – May 06th, 2017