Disowned by owner, ignored by administration, injured calf awaits painful death
By PRABEER SIKDAR
DEHRADUN, 6 Apr 2009:
A visit to the erstwhile Dispensary Road based Government Veterinary Hospital premises this afternoon – where an animal lover had just brought in an injured male calf on a trolley – made one thing clear: Animals cannot read traffic signs and nor are they expected to know whom to approach if they meet with accidents.
Thankfully, Sanjeev Jethi and his brother Lalit Jethi – who were going towards their home on GMS Road to have lunch – knew exactly where to shift the injured calf.
“We found the calf moaning in pain after being hit by a speeding Bolero on GMS Road. With no knowledge about the calf’s owner, we decided to ferry it to the District Veterinary Hospital on Kanwali Road,” said Lalit Jethi, who runs a studio near Clock Tower.
Unfortunately, the Jethi brothers, who were riding their motorcycle at the time of the accident, also had to forgo their lunch as well, when they found that the Vet Hospital had closed for the day.
“The District Veterinary Hospital, which was temporarily shifted to a shopping complex on Kanwali Road, recently, is said to function only between 8:00 a.m to 2:00 pm,” disclosed Jethi.
Luckily for the unnamed white heifer (estimated to about 2 years old), whose left fore leg bone had split into two due to the impact of the accident, the Jethi brothers spotted Sonu, an old acquaintance of theirs’, at the accident site driving his trolley.
“But, after we found the Vet Hospital closed, we immediately got it back to the Dispensary Road based Old District Veterinary Hospital,” he added.
A pathetic scene
The actual agony of the injured heifer began after its rescuers left. With few expert hands around (District Veterinary attendants have their residences inside the Animal Hospital premises), the calf fell on the ground with a thud, while being off-loaded from the vehicle.
“For us, this is not an isolated case as many pet owners/ animal lovers are still unaware about the location of the temporary Veterinary Hospital on Kanwali Road,” said Jitendra Chauhan, President of the Nehru Foundation for Youth Development (NFYD), which is spearheading a movement along with PFA and others against the state government’s decision to shift the District Veterinary Hospital from Dispensary Road.
“Till date, there is no mobile ambulance facility to bring injured animals from far away places to the Government Veterinary Hospital in the city,” said Chauhan, adding that after the shifting of the Hospital to Kanwali Road, recently, the life span of ill/ injured domestic animals has been cut short.
“It is all thanks to the District Administration. Now, with the shifting of the Hospital from Dispensary Road, the injured/ill domestic animals would not have any other hospital within an average 7 kms radius from the Clock Tower,” pointed out Chauhan, criticising Government for its shortsightedness.
“Unlike the present spacious location on Dispensary Road (the entire area reportedly covers 13.5 bighas, out of which 8.5 bighas have remained as a result of encroachment), at Kanwali Road, there are no facilities to treat animals,” he said.
With the shifting of the hospital to Kanwali Road, many Veterinary attendants, who have their residences inside the old Complex, now travel to their temporary hospital everyday. “We will continue to function from there, until a new District Veterinary Hospital comes up in Transport Nagar,” said Manmohan Sagar, an attendant, who by then, had also provided first aid to the injured calf.
Inside the two-room Sona Cattle shed, which was built in 1958 by one PG Banerjee in memory of an Irish Setter dog, the injured calf had company: 5 three legged cattle—three cows and two male calves.
GSS & Cow protection
Interestingly, Gokul Seva Samiti, an NGO run by CM Joshi, who owns a Gas Agency, has been looking after destitute cows/calves for 10 years at the Sona Cattle Shed, on his own. “Despite the Veterinary Hospital getting shifted to the new place, the cattle shed was retained owing to lack of space at the new location,” said Chauhan, adding that GSS members take care of their entire needs.
Surprisingly, GSS has no affiliation with any political party and reportedly works here on a humanitarian basis. “This is the irony because a party that harps on Rama and Krishna, has disowned the latter’s favourite animal,” alleged Chauhan.
“Where are the votaries of Cow protection?” he asked, describing the initiation of cow urine technology and Cow Slaughter Act as meaningless ‘when animals continue to suffer due to government neglect’.
Businessmen’s woes
Apart from obvious losses to pet animals, the shifting of the Hospital from Dispensary Road has also caused losses to businessmen here.
“There has been a 60% drop in my earnings ever since the Hospital was shifted,” said the owner of 24 Dispensary Road based Shreshta Medical Store, which still has unsold stocks of pet care goods including pedigreed food and medicines.
“I have decided to start selling General Goods from now on,” he said, adding that all the veterinary products had to be dumped as their expiry periods were fast approaching.
In all, there are four veterinary pharmacists in the area including other shops which sell pet care accessories.
(By the time of filing this story, no vet had attended the injured calf. The government veterinary officer had reportedly shifted his residence from the Old Hospital premises five years ago. According to a vet attendant, the leg of the injured calf needed to be amputated to save its life. It had already lost considerable blood due to the accident. Meanwhile, in protest against the administration’s insensitivity towards animals, NFYD/ animal lovers continue to stage a relay dharna everyday since 20 March here.)
http://www.garhwalpost.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Dehradun&article=197
By PRABEER SIKDAR
DEHRADUN, 6 Apr 2009:
A visit to the erstwhile Dispensary Road based Government Veterinary Hospital premises this afternoon – where an animal lover had just brought in an injured male calf on a trolley – made one thing clear: Animals cannot read traffic signs and nor are they expected to know whom to approach if they meet with accidents.
Thankfully, Sanjeev Jethi and his brother Lalit Jethi – who were going towards their home on GMS Road to have lunch – knew exactly where to shift the injured calf.
“We found the calf moaning in pain after being hit by a speeding Bolero on GMS Road. With no knowledge about the calf’s owner, we decided to ferry it to the District Veterinary Hospital on Kanwali Road,” said Lalit Jethi, who runs a studio near Clock Tower.
Unfortunately, the Jethi brothers, who were riding their motorcycle at the time of the accident, also had to forgo their lunch as well, when they found that the Vet Hospital had closed for the day.
“The District Veterinary Hospital, which was temporarily shifted to a shopping complex on Kanwali Road, recently, is said to function only between 8:00 a.m to 2:00 pm,” disclosed Jethi.
Luckily for the unnamed white heifer (estimated to about 2 years old), whose left fore leg bone had split into two due to the impact of the accident, the Jethi brothers spotted Sonu, an old acquaintance of theirs’, at the accident site driving his trolley.
“But, after we found the Vet Hospital closed, we immediately got it back to the Dispensary Road based Old District Veterinary Hospital,” he added.
A pathetic scene
The actual agony of the injured heifer began after its rescuers left. With few expert hands around (District Veterinary attendants have their residences inside the Animal Hospital premises), the calf fell on the ground with a thud, while being off-loaded from the vehicle.
“For us, this is not an isolated case as many pet owners/ animal lovers are still unaware about the location of the temporary Veterinary Hospital on Kanwali Road,” said Jitendra Chauhan, President of the Nehru Foundation for Youth Development (NFYD), which is spearheading a movement along with PFA and others against the state government’s decision to shift the District Veterinary Hospital from Dispensary Road.
“Till date, there is no mobile ambulance facility to bring injured animals from far away places to the Government Veterinary Hospital in the city,” said Chauhan, adding that after the shifting of the Hospital to Kanwali Road, recently, the life span of ill/ injured domestic animals has been cut short.
“It is all thanks to the District Administration. Now, with the shifting of the Hospital from Dispensary Road, the injured/ill domestic animals would not have any other hospital within an average 7 kms radius from the Clock Tower,” pointed out Chauhan, criticising Government for its shortsightedness.
“Unlike the present spacious location on Dispensary Road (the entire area reportedly covers 13.5 bighas, out of which 8.5 bighas have remained as a result of encroachment), at Kanwali Road, there are no facilities to treat animals,” he said.
With the shifting of the hospital to Kanwali Road, many Veterinary attendants, who have their residences inside the old Complex, now travel to their temporary hospital everyday. “We will continue to function from there, until a new District Veterinary Hospital comes up in Transport Nagar,” said Manmohan Sagar, an attendant, who by then, had also provided first aid to the injured calf.
Inside the two-room Sona Cattle shed, which was built in 1958 by one PG Banerjee in memory of an Irish Setter dog, the injured calf had company: 5 three legged cattle—three cows and two male calves.
GSS & Cow protection
Interestingly, Gokul Seva Samiti, an NGO run by CM Joshi, who owns a Gas Agency, has been looking after destitute cows/calves for 10 years at the Sona Cattle Shed, on his own. “Despite the Veterinary Hospital getting shifted to the new place, the cattle shed was retained owing to lack of space at the new location,” said Chauhan, adding that GSS members take care of their entire needs.
Surprisingly, GSS has no affiliation with any political party and reportedly works here on a humanitarian basis. “This is the irony because a party that harps on Rama and Krishna, has disowned the latter’s favourite animal,” alleged Chauhan.
“Where are the votaries of Cow protection?” he asked, describing the initiation of cow urine technology and Cow Slaughter Act as meaningless ‘when animals continue to suffer due to government neglect’.
Businessmen’s woes
Apart from obvious losses to pet animals, the shifting of the Hospital from Dispensary Road has also caused losses to businessmen here.
“There has been a 60% drop in my earnings ever since the Hospital was shifted,” said the owner of 24 Dispensary Road based Shreshta Medical Store, which still has unsold stocks of pet care goods including pedigreed food and medicines.
“I have decided to start selling General Goods from now on,” he said, adding that all the veterinary products had to be dumped as their expiry periods were fast approaching.
In all, there are four veterinary pharmacists in the area including other shops which sell pet care accessories.
(By the time of filing this story, no vet had attended the injured calf. The government veterinary officer had reportedly shifted his residence from the Old Hospital premises five years ago. According to a vet attendant, the leg of the injured calf needed to be amputated to save its life. It had already lost considerable blood due to the accident. Meanwhile, in protest against the administration’s insensitivity towards animals, NFYD/ animal lovers continue to stage a relay dharna everyday since 20 March here.)
http://www.garhwalpost.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Dehradun&article=197
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