Cattle farmers in TN feel pinch as ECI's ₹50,000 cash cap rule corrals business

FOR lakhs of farmers living in Tamil Nadu's hinterland, cattle, goat, and sheep are the beasts of burden that help them pull through the vagaries of life.

- JEVIN SELWYN HENRY

For these farmers, livestock are their investment, income, and insurance. During festivals, emergencies, or while admitting their wards to schools or colleges, rural households trade their livestock for cash at shandies to make ends meet. But the cash restrictions imposed by the Election Commission of India as part of the Model Code of Conduct have now pushed them to the brink.

R Murugan, a trader from Gopinamthampatti in Dharmapuri, told TNIE, “In Dharmapuri, cattle rearing is one of the key occupations. The district has over ₹3.75 lakh cattle and more than ₹5.25 lakh sheep, goat and other milch animals.