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Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/uttarakhand-humans-out-who-will-rescue-the-animals-21889.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Uttarakhand: Humans out, who will rescue the animals? | Im4change.org
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Uttarakhand: Humans out, who will rescue the animals?
-The Indian Express


Dehradun: This horse has spent his entire life ferrying pilgrims to and from Kedarnath Dham. And since December 16 -- when the first rush of water brought with it untold devastation for the region -- this horse has been stuck on a rocky bed across river Mandakini, without a blade of grass to graze on. We shall call him Hope.

''All attempts, by NGOs and even the Army, to save Hope by building a temporary bridge to him have failed,'' says Kamna Pandey, Co-op Member Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests.

Hope can be seen from Sonprayag. ''Everytime someone attempts a rescue, or simply stands on this side of the river, a tantalising two kilometres away from him, he musters up whatever little strength he's left with, stands a little taller and gazes on. With each passing day his ribs are more visible, his chances of survival a little bleaker. They say he doesn't move, he just stands and looks on in the direction of the Sonprayag-Rudraprayag Road, Kamna says.

Not a single chopper has dropped food for the horse and he stands exposed to incessant rains and chilly winds, she says.

There are many Hopes (details below). More than 2500, half of which are starving without food or water, now near death. There hasn't been an aerial recon of the area to know here horses are stranded. The choppers are leaving the area, the Army is now slowly moving out.

Gauri Maulekhi, Member Secretary, People for Animals Uttarakhand, is appalled that the state government and the Army have ignored animals stranded in the area.

Gauri says: ''The central government has granted Rs 1,000 cr for relief in Uttarakhand. The calamity has struck the agricultural community and cattle herders the most. It is only logical that a substantial amount of the relief should be allocated towards the welfare of livestock. People for Animals Uttarakhand demands at least one percent of the relief amount to be spent on veterinary clinics and night shelters for livestock in the hills.''

The picture is rather grim in the state, Gauri says. ''These animals have made pilgrim places accessible for centuries. They have built the economic backbone of the region, they have made life possible by reaching food to far-off places. But thousands of horses, goats, cows and dogs have been left to die or fend for themselves, stranded in isolated pockets surrounded by deadly landslides or treacherous currents.''

The carrying capacity of mules in Kedarnath was set by the Uttarakhand High Court through an order in April 2013. There should not have been more than 4,500 mules on the entire route. On the day of the calamity, there were more than 12,000 mules between Gaurikund and Kedarnath. Gauri asks: Why has the district administration not been pulled up for this blatant violation of court order?''

Gauri says no veterinarian was available in the affected areas till July 3. Even when the Animal Husbandry relief teams reached the calamity area, they charged standard fees for treatment of injured animals from farmers who have lost everything in the calamity, she says.

She said 91 tonnes of fodder has been accumulated by various agencies at the Guptkashi and Gauchar helipads in Rudraprayag and Chamoli, but not a single chopper has dropped fodder anywhere along the Kedarnath route for starving animals.

She gave more details. Two hundred and fifty mules are still stuck in Rambada Bazaar, 350 at Ghingorpani, 10 in Kedarnath Bazaar, 600 in Kedarnath valley, 50 at Gaurikund (trans-Mandakani) and 5 at Sonprayag. Meanwhile, in the Hemkund area 1,135 animals including mules, cows and buffaloes are stuck because a 60-feet temporary bridge over Alakhnanda was removed by the Army on June 29. Two more bridges, 30 and 20-feet long, are required at Pulna and Ghangaria on the Hemkund track to rescue 300 mules.

People for Animals, headed by Maneka Gandhi, is doing its bit to save the animals, doing it themselves or hiring local help, Gauri says.

The Animal Welfare Board of India says donations can be made to Animal Ashram, United Bank of India, Hazratganj Branch, A/C number 0302010168304, IFSCI UTBIOH9ZG509. All donations will get tax benefits.

One can also sponsor a few flying hours out of the minimum 21 needed to drop feed at least once to all the horses.