1,200 cows die in 4 months in Gwalior shelter

As many as 1,200 bovines died at a government-run shelter in Gwalior over the last four months, spurring a blame game between the caretaker and the local municipal body.

While the civic body blamed the consumption of polythene and other waste products for the cattle deaths, the caretaker cited overcrowding and poor infrastructure at the shelter as the prime cause. The cattle deaths would have gone unreported if local residents had not raised the alarm after seeing 10 carcasses being transported out of the cow shelter one day.

“Autopsies conducted on a few of the cows revealed that they had been feeding on polythene, glass pieces and vermillion,” said Upendra Yadav, veterinary doctor of the Gwalior municipal corporation. City mayor Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar clarified that not all the dead animals were cows. “They included bulls and calves abandoned by nearby villagers too. Damage to the animals’ digestive system was identified as the primary cause. Polythene blocks intestines and other organs in digestive tract,” he said.

However, shelter caretaker Swami Rishabhanand disagreed with the civic body’s contention. “Overcrowding and poor infrastructure are the main reasons for their deaths. Ailing bovines are forced to live with healthy calves due to space constraints, and this leads to the spread of infection,” he said.

Ironically, the reason attributed by the municipal body for the deaths betrays its own inability to observe proper hygiene in Gwalior – ranked as the 27th cleanest city in India under the Swachch Bharat survey-2017.

“The civic body is offering nothing but a lame excuse; the cows are dying of starvation and lack of proper medical care,” said social activist Sudhir Sapra. “But if polythene is really the reason, officials should take the blame for failing to keep the city clean. Cattle housed at the shelter have been dying for a year now.”

Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said the cattle deaths have exposed the ruling party’s hypocrisy. “On one hand, our chief minister (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) is holding religious yatras, and on the other, his administration is failing to save cows. The cattle deaths depict the double standards of this government,” he added.

The development, however, has forced the Gwalior municipal corporation to undertake compulsory registration and geo-tagging of cows.

“Tagging will make it easier for us to track cows, and take action against owners who have abandoned them. Also, we are encouraging people to use cloth bags instead of polythene ones,” said Shejwalkar.

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