Nepalgunj, September 3 Banke’s Nepalgunj Sub-metropolis Mayor Dhawal Shamsher Rana has clarified that the death of cows in Katkuwa of Surkhet was an accident. On Friday, 23 cows were found dead in Katkuwa. Speaking at a press conference organised here after the mayor returned to Nepalgunj today, he said the idea of sending cows to Dailekh was part of the plan to manage the increasing number of cows at Kanji House in the municipality. “As we had learnt that Bardia’s Bansgadi Municipality had successfully managed the increasing number of stray cattle by sending them off to the hills, we thought of doing a similar thing and so sent them to Dailekh by loading them on trucks. We didn’t have any malicious intention in doing so,” he said. Rana further claimed that some cows had died inside the vehicles while on the move. “Following due process, the municipality had sent off the cows under the supervision of municipal police to Dailekh, where they were supposed to be kept by farmers for agricultural use, but as the cattle languishing in Kanji House were frail and started dying inside the vehicle, the municipal police were afraid and they left the cows there and returned to Nepalgunj,” he said. “The allegation that cows were murdered by hurtling them down the cliff is totally baseless. We can’t even think of this,” he said. Further, Rana pledged to cooperate with all for the management of cattle in future. “In fact, we had talked to Banke National Park, district forest office and the chief minister but as they couldn’t help us out, we decided to send the cows to the hills considering it as a good idea for managing the growing number of stray cattle inside Kanji House,”said the mayor.