Margao: Deputy collector and sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Quepem, Vimod Dalal, has passed an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, directing Dhyan Foundation to remove all cattle from the site of its demolished gaushala at Deao, Quepem, within 12 hours, citing imminent danger to public safety, public health and animal welfare. The order was served on Sunday morning.The order comes days after eight sheds of the foundation’s gaushala at Deao were razed by unidentified persons in the early hours of July 22, triggering a dispute between the animal welfare organisation and the managing committee of Shri Damodar Devasthan, Zambaulim, on whose land the shelter stood.Quepem police had booked an FIR naming temple committee president Manjunath Dukle and others in connection with the demolition.
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Citing the Quepem mamlatdar’s July 22 report, the SDM’s order noted that the dismantling of the sheds had left cattle without adequate shelter. The veterinary officer, Quepem, had reported cattle loitering on the premises and adjoining public roads, creating obstruction and danger to road users, while cow dung, metallic debris and other biological waste remained scattered at the site, raising sanitation and health concerns.The order stated that the cattle previously housed in the sheds were currently under temporary plastic-sheet shelters with inadequate manpower and infrastructure, posing a continuing risk to the animals given the prevailing monsoon conditions.It invoked Sections 3 and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which cast a statutory obligation on persons in charge of animals to ensure adequate food, water and shelter.The SDM directed the Dhyan Foundation to relocate the cattle to recognised gaushalas or suitable animal shelters within 12 hours of service of the order, after obtaining fitness-for-transport certification from the veterinary officer. Should the foundation fail to comply, the directorate of animal husbandry and veterinary services, through the veterinary officer, Quepem, was directed to undertake the rescue, transportation and relocation of the cattle at the foundation’s risk and cost.The Quepem mamlatdar has been directed to supervise implementation and maintain records of the cattle shifted, while the Quepem PI has been asked to provide necessary assistance, including preventing obstruction during the operation. The order warned that anyone obstructing its implementation would be liable for action under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.Dhyan Foundation had earlier maintained that it built the sheds after obtaining an NOC from the devasthan in Feb and had invested nearly Rs 1.5 crore in the gaushala, while the temple committee alleged the foundation had built on land beyond what was allotted and encroached without informing the committee.
