South Gujarat farmers sending fodder to help cattle herders

A farmers association in south Gujarat has come to the aid of scores of cattle herders, who walked over 350 km from the parched Kutch to Sanand town near here, by providing them 20,000 kg feed daily for their cattle.

Over 170 maldhari (cattle herder) families with their 7,000 head of cattle began their trek out of Kutch a week ago due to drought-like conditions to reach Sanand, around 20 km from Ahmedabad. Local organisations have put them up in three camps.

Coming to the Maldharis' help, the Gujarat Khedut Samaj's south Gujarat unit is sending them as much as 20,000 kg grain each day for their cattle.

Jayesh Patel, the Khedut Samaj President, southern Gujarat, told IANS that the organisation's Ahmedabad unit told them about the arrival of the Maldhari families from Kutch. "We assembled on Friday last and chose to help them in the most ideal manner. With everybody's commitment, we despatched the first truckload of 20,000 kg grain each day for them...and Monday is the third day."

This trucks is sent from Surat by the south Gujarat unit and is received by the Ahmedabad unit at Sanand and they arrange the distribution of the grain in the three camps of maldharis, Khedut Samaj's south Gujarat leader Darshan Nayak added.

According to Jayesh Patel, since the cattle-herders reached Sanand by foot, the Khedut Samaj has also decided to collect rice for them. "Once a respectable amount has been gathered, this will be sent to them along with the fodder. Among the three camps, two are of Muslim groups and one is of the Hindu group, he said.

--IANS

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