LUMPY SKIN DISEASE: Carcasses rot in the open, encroachers to blame

Balwant Garg

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Faridkot, August 17

The courtyard in the house of Jalour Singh (55), a farmer in Baggeana village of Faridkot, has turned into a graveyard for dead cattle. After four of his cows died of lumpy skin disease, he buried two of them in his courtyard as the approach road to “Hada Rori” — the place for the disposal of carcasses, hide and remains of dead animals — situated outside the village is closed.

After a dispute over the “Hada Rori” between Kotsukhia and Baggeana, two adjoining villages, the approach road was closed. It forced Jalour Singh to bury the dead cows in his courtyard, said Gurdeep Singh, sarpanch, Baggeana village.

In the absence of any dumping place in Golewala village, bloating carcasses are lying in the open at a gaushala. The one-acre “Hada Rori” in the village has allegedly been encroached upon for the past about seven years. Politically connected persons have encroached upon this place to build houses, it is alleged.

It is not only the shamlat land that is under illegal possession in most of the villages of Faridkot district, in some areas even the “Hada Rori” has been usurped and concrete houses built on the land. In Bargari, another Faridkot village, there was a dispute between two communities over the dumping of carcasses as many houses have been built on a part of the “Hada Rori” land.

In the town, a dumping place for the carcasses is being used by the Municipal Committee (MC) to throw garbage. Amarinder Singh, MC Executive Officer, said in the absence of any other place for garbage, they were forced to dump it at the “Hada Rori” site.

Earlier, there used to be annual contracts for the “lifting and proper disposal of dead animals” in villages and towns. The contractors used to skin the carcasses inside the “Hada Rori” and then earn Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 per animal by selling their leather, bones and hooves. Vultures used to scavenge these ripped-off carcasses, said Amarjit Singh, a contractor for lifting the dead animals.

But, now for the past about seven-eight years, there is no annual contract for the lifting of dead animals in urban and rural parts of this area and the vulture population has also witnessed a catastrophic decline. The main reason for no contract is low returns to the contractors in the sale of leather, bones and hooves. “We used to send these items to Kanpur but now ‘gau rakshaks’ in various parts of the northern India are a big problem for us. We are fearful of transporting skin and bones to Kanpur, thus making this business unprofitable, Amarjit added.

The MC Executive Officer also admitted there was no annual contract for the lifting of dead animals for the past many years.

NO MORE CONTRACT FOR LIFTING BODIES

• Earlier, there used to be annual contracts for the “lifting and proper disposal of dead animals” in villages and towns
• The panchayats and the MCs, depending on the size of villages and towns, were earning from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh
• The vendors used to skin the carcasses & earn Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 per animal by selling their leather, bones and hooves
• The reason for no contracts now is low returns to the vendors in the sale of leather, bones and hooves