The self-sufficient privately owned cow shelters have turned a blind eye to State funds. Of the total number of gaushalas, a few private cow shelters which are located at the outskirts of Delhi are somewhat in good state. While Government has five of its cow shelters in Delhi, the private owners of the cow shelters are reluctant to seek any Government help. The owners of the private cow shelters fear that once they begin taking Government funds for maintenance and rehabilitation of cows, the municipal corporations will create problems by adding more cows to their cow shelters.
When The Pioneer visited a few private shelters in the national Capital, it found that these gaushalas are better maintained than Government ones. The caretakers are maintaining the cow shelters with their own expense and are not willing to collaborate with the Government/MCD owned cow shelters.
The 125-year-old gaushala at Mehrauli’s Kishangarh Village is a home to about 1,400 cows. The cows here are rehabilitated by nearby villagers after they can no longer be milked. Owner (who did not wish to be named) of the Mehrauli’s Kishangarh gaushala said, “We do not get any assistance from the Government for the maintenance of the cow shelters and we don’t even want it. We get support from villagers to run the gaushala.” There is no such requirement for the Government funds, he added.
For regular health checkup of the cattle, the owner of the cow shelter has deputed three veterinary doctors. “We have three doctors along compounders who routinely conduct their health checkups,” he said.
located at the bank of the Yamuna in East Delhi area, another privately-run gaushala in the city is the habitat for about 500 cows. The owner of the gaushala said, “The Government-run cow shelters are in bad condition. Instead providing help to the other private cow shelters, if the Government could upgrade the condition of their gaushalas, it will solve the existing problems... We can manage the sustenance of our cow shelters on our own.”
Till a decade ago, every second household had a cow shelter within its courtyard. With urbanisation, cow shelter has vanishing, he said.
These dairies supply milk to the various parts of the Delhi. “In the morning and evening, cattle are pushed out before rounding them up for milking in the evenings,” said the milkman at Kishangarh cow shelter.
Ruchi Kale, volunteer from Dhyan Foundation, said, “Cows are forced to suffer once they stop
providing milk. As they are considered useless, they are forced to go away from their homes by vegetable sellers and dairy owners. Most of these cows have no option but to eat plastic, garbage and glass items which leads to their untimely death. These items are poison for their body. Our NGO provides help to such cows. Through our helpline number one can reach us, and inform us about cows found in a bad shape on the city’s streets.”