Source

NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 2, 2005: Officials have estimated that 32,000 cows are allowed to roam the streets of New Delhi at will. Tourists are amused when traffic is brought to a halt by grazing cows. However, residents of the city know the dangers. The news release explains, “Almost every week new stories of their savagery hit the front pages. Last February, a retired railway official and a maid were gored to death by a wild bull, and in March a Hindu priest was attacked and killed by a cow.” As a result, the High Court (Chief Justice BC Patel) ordered the head of the New Delhi Municipal Council and other senior officials to solve the problem. However, the officials are faced with an even larger problem. The article explains, “At the heart of the problem are the city’s illegal dairies whose owners allow the cattle to graze untended during the day before rounding them up for milking in the evenings. These small businesses are often protected by powerful local interests, and have responded with gang violence to attempts to confiscate their animals. The crackdown is likely to end in violence as the owners of the city’s 3,500 illegal street dairies fiercely resist all attempts to round up the beasts.” A lawyer for the municipal council told the court, “Our officials are beaten up whenever they go to catch stray cattle. Officials have been attacked by mobs and their vehicles vandalised. We are asking for better police protection during this week’s intensive campaign.” The request was not granted.

Post Views: 563