Lucknow: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here on Friday said smuggling of cows for slaughter to neighbouring nations had come down drastically since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power.

In his parliamentary constituency on a two-day visit, Singh said it was due to the union government's efforts that the Border Security Force stepped up vigil on Indo-Bangladesh border, as a result of which cow smuggling to the neighbouring nation had reduced.

Earlier, Singh claimed, 13 lakh cows were being smuggled to Bangladesh annually and the number has now declined to 2-3 lakhs, leading to a big hike in rates of beef in Bangladesh.

Attributing this piece of information to the Bangladesh high commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali, the home minister said the envoy had told him that the rates of cow meat had shot through the roof in his country

(IANS)