Telangana to Frame New Cow Protection Policy, CM Revanth Reddy Directs Officials

Hyderabad, June 17:
The Telangana government has decided to create a comprehensive policy for cow protection across the state. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy issued instructions to officials during a high-level review meeting held at his residence.

To move this forward, the Chief Minister appointed a three-member committee that includes:

• Sabyasachi Ghosh, Special Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry Department

• Shailaja Ramaiyar, Principal Secretary, Endowments Department

• Raghunandan Rao, Secretary, Agriculture Department

This committee will study cow protection models in other states and examine the best practices for running cow shelters (Goshalas). It will also prepare a report with recommendations for Telangana.

CM Revanth Reddy stressed the importance of cows in Indian culture and religious beliefs. He expressed concern about the deaths of donated cows in some shelters due to overcrowding and poor conditions. To address this, he ordered the construction of modern cow shelters in four locations during the first phase:

• Vemulawada, a popular temple town known for ‘Kode Mokku’ (calf donation)
• Yadagirigutta, a major pilgrimage center
• Yenkepally, near Hyderabad
• The Animal Husbandry University

The Chief Minister also directed that a large cow shelter be built on over 100 acres in Vemulawada, emphasizing the need to protect calves donated by devotees with devotion.

He assured that the state government is willing to spend generously on this initiative to ensure proper care and protection of cows. During the meeting, officials presented an approach paper on the proposed management and development of the cow shelters.

The meeting was attended by Animal Husbandry Minister Vakiti Srihari, Principal Secretaries V. Seshadri and Srinivasa Raju, HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmed, Animal Husbandry Director Gopi, Ranga Reddy Collector Narayana Reddy, and other senior officials.