Abandoned by owner, injured horse dies

A man abandoned his ailing, severely injured and malnourished horse on a road at Shantinagar in Ulhasnagar on Tuesday night.

Even as the residents and passers-by tried to get help from the authorities, the horse died after a few hours. They called up the police and fire brigade but they passed on the responsibility to others.

The horse was between 6 and 8 years old and was bleeding.

As the horse lay dying, the people protested against the authorities’ apathy by blocking the road. This led to a huge traffic jam in the area.

The horse could not stand and when the residents looked at its worsening condition, they applied turmeric on its legs.

Umesh Gupta, 29, a labourer from Ulhasnagar, was among those who tried to get help.

“Around 60 people gathered near the animal and tried to save it. When we called up the fire brigade, they asked us to call Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). We do not have an animal hospital in Ulhasnagar,” said Gupta.

The angry crowd protested by forming a chain and blocking the road from Shantinagar to C block area in Ulhasnagar.

“We parked our vehicles on the road to protest because of which there was huge traffic on the road as the same road connects Shahad,” said Gupta.

When the police control room was alerted about the traffic jam and the protest, they rushed to the spot but the horse had died.

“After a couple of hours, UMC officials, the police and the fire brigade personnel reached the spot. The horse was picked with a crane and put in a dumper,” added Gupta

The horse died of multiple internal and external injuries.

Nitu John, 26, an animal lover from Ulhasnagar, was on the spot to join the protest.

“The officials simply shrugged off their responsibility. The horse had multiple injuries, he was suffering from oedema and was bleeding from his left eye,” she said.