If India were to plug cattle smuggling into Bangladesh, it could cost the country Rs 310 billion, or roughly Tk 388 billion, annually, reports the The Times of India.
Published : 03 Apr 2015, 06:12 PM
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That would be closely the sum India would need to spend to take care of about 125 billion unproductive animals if cattle smuggling were halted, the report says.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh has ordered the country’s Border Security Force (BSF) to firmly stop the smuggling.
The paper says the towering sum would be four times the Indian government’s yearly allocation for nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme.
It is estimated that 2.5 million heads of cattle from India are smuggled into Bangladesh each year.
There is widespread belief, says the paper, that this illegal grade has the connivance of the BSF, a charge the border force vehemently denies.
The report quotes sources to say that sheer the economics of the cattle business might make it impossible to stop the smuggling altogether.
Bangladesh has a multi-million dollar cattle-meat processing industry that is served almost entirely by the supply of Indian cattle.
The bulk of that meat is exported by Bangladesh to Gulf countries with only a small amount consumed within the country.
"I am told prices of beef in Bangladesh have gone up by 30 percent recently due to heightened vigil by BSF against cattle smuggling.
“You further intensify your vigil so that the cattle smuggling stops completely and prices of beef in Bangladesh escalates 70-80 oercent more so that people of Bangladesh give up eating beef,” the paper quoted Singh as telling BSF guards on the West Bengal border on Wednesday.
Hence, the cost of maintaining unproductive cattle arises.
The paper quotes dairy industry sources to say the life expectancy of cows in India varies between 15 and 20 years with the last five years being generally dry.
If the smuggling is stopped, India will have to take care of 12.5 million dry cattle each year.
The industry estimates the cost of arranging fodder, shelter, and cowherds’ salaries would add up to about Rs 25,000 per cow each year.
Going by that estimate, the government would have to shell out Rs 312.5 billion each year for its dry cow population each year.
(Rs 1 = Tk 1.2516)