Fact check: Farmers can't afford to stick to the terms of the new cattle ban

Recently, Devendra Fadnavis stated that cow protection is key to avoiding farmers' distress

In Karmad village of Aurangabad taluka and district, Pundalikrao Ukarde is sowing black gram in his field with a pair of bullocks to help him plough the soil.
 

He is 61 but the hard work doesn’t appear to exhaust him. He has just tilled one row when his indigenous seed-drill, which ploughs the soil and also releases seeds into it, breaks.

Ukarde unscrews the tool and in about 15 minutes ties up the discs, tightens the screws and fixes the tilling rods upright. He works another three hours. “This is a crucial time. You won’t