Dhyan Foundation received a frantic call from a woman activist in Rajasthan who informed that more than 500 cows had died in a cow shelter Hingonia gaushala belonging to the state capital – Jaipur, during the last 10 days. Yogi Ashwini immediately moved a team of volunteers to check the actual state of the cows. Next day some sos eatables like jaggery and glucose powder were sent to feed cows but there was more awaited to be reported than just lack of fodder.
Once on ground, the volunteers from Dhyan Foundation were unprepared to encounter what they witnessed in the gaushala [cow shelter]. Speaking to the locals and labor employed at the shelter revealed how their salaries had not been paid by the management since the past 3 months. The labour went on strike last month and ever since then the cows were not given their feed. Several thousand kg’s of cow dung was accumulating as labour was on strike. To camouflage the grave condition, the management of the cow shelter placed loose mud on top of the heaps of dung. When monsoon showers began in full swing, the dung and mud turned to quick sand where several hundred cows were stuck in almost 2-2.5 ft of cow dung marsh.
With the aid of locals, Dhyan foundation volunteers immediately began pulling out the cows from the cow-dung quick sand. The volunteers shifted all sick cows to hospital during the day and continued to work into the wee hours of the night. Green fodder was arranged to feed cows who couldn’t even move an inch due to illness and weak bodies.
The management was shaken to its roots as the mass cow-deaths were unveiled to the world via the media which was widely reporting the matter. The channels were covering stories, the VIPs were visiting gaushala for their vote bank politics, blaming their counterparts and the authorities were busy facilitating the high profile visits. Nobody except for Yogi Ashwini and his students seemed to care for the miserable cows. The emergency ward of the hospital looked like a war zone where close to 400 cows were in critical condition with up to 5 cows dying every hour. Since there was no staff, Dhyan Foundation volunteers began giving glucose-water and feed to each animal one-by-one. The critical animals began showing signs of improvement when they were given the care they required. Several animals revived after the efforts of the volunteers and began walking again. But nonetheless, several hundreds collapsed due to the lack of staff and doctors. There were 2 doctors for the 400 critical cases.
“The basic problem in all cow shelters is lack of fodder and caring staff, garbage and plastics which cows eat cause diseases and high mortality. Because of corruption, cattle are sold off to butchers illegally from certain shelters. Even though government has provided enough gaushalas, certain corrupt officials do not take proper care and at times, sell off fodder illegally,” commented Yogi Ashwini on the state of cow shelters in India. The condition of the animal shelter which houses all the sick animals from capital city of Jaipur, Rajasthan is a live example.
Show your support by writing mails and letters to authorities in Rajasthan voicing your dissent against the recent atrocities against animals at Hingonia Gaushala [[email protected]]
Now Dhyan Foundation Animal Brigade would be visiting the gaushala regularly to serve the cows. Hoping the administration has woken up to the pathetic state of cows after their deep slumber and would remain awake in future as well.
South Africa Today – World News – India
