A cowshed behind SSKM Hospital. A Telegraph picture

The state government has decided to launch a drive against khatals (cowsheds) in and around the city.

The animal resources development department’s decision has been prompted by complaints from at least 16 different areas in Calcutta regarding problems caused by khatals, declared illegal in the city municipal area in the 1980s.

“Khatals are unhygienic and pollute the environment. They are breeding grounds for mosquitos,” said Uday Shankar Nandi, the milk commissioner and special secretary in the animal resources development department.

“Despite being declared illegal, several khatals and khatal-like clusters have sprung up in different parts of Calcutta. They are eyesores. We are serious about their eviction as beautifying the city is among the primary aims of the new government,” he added.

Khatal removal drives had been carried out in the late-1980s and between 1994 and 1999. Nearly 4,500 cows, buffaloes and calves had been seized. The last drive in the city was in 2000.

“The areas from which we have received complaints include Gariahat, New Alipore, Garden Reach, Rabindra Sarobar, North Port police station areas, Chetla, Park Circus, Lower Range in Karaya Road, Behala, Garden Reach and Amherst Street,” said Nandi.

According to an estimate, the khatals house about 125 cows, buffaloes and calves.

On August 26, a meeting was held between the department and Calcutta police, where it had been decided that notices would be served on the owners of khatals on September 5 and 6, asking them to remove the animals. The eviction drive will be undertaken in mid-November.

“Owners of khatals might claim that they have gathered cattle for kurbani. So we will let Id-uz-Zoha or Bakri Id pass and launch the drive on November 12. I suspect there are about 60 to 70 illegal khatals in and around Calcutta,” said Nandi.

Officials of the department suspect the cows, buffaloes and calves seized during the drive would not be claimed, so trucks would be kept ready to take the cattle to the State Livestock Farm at Kalyani, from where they would be auctioned.