KANPUR: Locking up stray cattle in schools is becoming increasingly common in
Uttar Pradesh with another such instance reported from Anantpur Dhaukal village of Kanpur Dehat district. Farmers forced out the students and teachers of another basic school in the district and herded around 50 bovines in the school. The headmaster later summoned the police who drove away the cattle from the school.
This is the fifth time in the region when farmers have locked cattle in a school to prevent the stray animals from destroying their crops.
“The students and teachers were attending their classes when a herd of nearly 50 cattle swarmed into the school, leading to panic among the children. When we requested the farmers to take away the cattle, they refused to budge and instead asked us to vacate the premises. We immediately vacated the school and took shelter in a nearby home,” said headmaster of the school Sunil Kumar.
Later, as there was no option left, we asked the students to return to their homes as the school was converted into a cow-shed by then, he added.
Block education officer Gyan Prakash Awasthi said, “When I and the police from Mangalpur police station tried to pacify the farmers, they demanded that the cattle destroying their crops should be dumped either in nearby jungles or a cow shelter built in the village.”
Station house officer (SHO) Mangalpur Tulsiram Pandey said: “We immediately rushed to the school after receiving an SOS from the school headmaster and drove the cattle away. We have apprised the senior district and police officers about the incident.”
On Friday, several people, including three policemen, were injured and police vehicles smashed after scores of farmers of Nagwan village in Bidhnoo clashed with a police team for freeing the cattle they had locked inside a government basic primary school, alleging that the bovine were damaging their crops.
The police had booked 50 persons on the charges of rioting and for hoarding cattle illegally in the school.
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