People engaged in livestock farming in the city are finding it difficult to find fodder for their cattle in the wake of the lockdown.

Kanke resident Krishnakant Pathak, who practises Ayurveda besides owning a cowshed with four cows, is among them.

“Supply of fodder has suddenly stopped and now I am finding it difficult to feed the cows who are growing weak day by day. They are also producing less milk. Fodder suppliers who have stock are charging an exorbitant price,” Pathak said.

Jitendra Yadav, another livestock farmer with around 40 cows and buffaloes, said he was facing a similar problem.

“We feed husk, hay, paddy straw, mustard cake and food grains to the cattle. But their supply has dried up after the lockdown. In rural areas, cattle have green pastures to graze on. But in the cities and towns, they will have to starve,” Yadav, also a resident of Kanke, said.

Ranchi Gaushala Nyas, which has over 200 cows, has recently procured the district administration’s permission for transporting cattle feed.

“The movement of trucks has stopped because of the lockdown. We have procured passes for transportation of fodder, but small farmers are facing problem,” an employee of Ranchi Gaushala Nyas said.

Ranchi sub-divisional officer (SDO) Lokesh Mishra admitted the problem and said the district administration was trying to ensure the availability of fodder.

“Fodder like paddy straws and hay are mainly supplied from Mandar and districts adjoining Ranchi, but the trucks carrying them have stopped moving. We are taking steps to ensure that the supply in resumed,” Mishra added.

State agriculture minister Badal Patralekh said the production, processing and supply of milk had also been affected.

“It has come to my knowledge that the trucks carrying fodder are stranded. This has led to the scarcity. I am going to hold a meeting with state chief secretary D. K. Tiwari and other officials for the resumption of supply. Milk supply has also taken a hit. Farmers are not able to supply milk to the co-operative society. The Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation Limited (COMFED) supplies milk under the Sudha brand. It procures 2 lakh litres of milk from Bihar to supply in Jharkhand. I am going to ask COMFED to procure milk from the farmers of Jharkhand,” the minister said.

Doranda police station personnel on Saturday arranged food for stray animals such as cows, buffaloes and dogs.

“These stray animals are the worst sufferers as they have nothing to eat,” said officer in-charge Shailesh Kumar. “Today, we arranged food for the stray animals on the police station premises. This will continue till the situation returns to normal.”