Everytime you hear the sounds of Kesariya Baalam Aawo ji Padharo Maro Des, you are automatically transported to the state of Rajasthan – a land of folklore, traditional might and monuments steeped with history.
Off late the state has gained notoriety for mob lynchings and cow vigilantism. Such has been the case since the current dispensation came to power since 2013 in the state. Not just Rajasthan but across India this phenomenon has picked pace.
While mob violence in the name of cow protection has been the norm, it is also true that the cow has been suffering a problem of a different kind across the country.
While Gaurakshaks take law into their hands to save the cow, who they consider a mother, there is little or no action on the garbage that cows feed on in the streets of India.
A problem to which even Lucknow is not an exception.
Poor garbage disposal has trebled the problem in Lucknow where around such garbage dumps cows are seen hovering around and feeding on plastic and other hazardous material.
Cows feeding on waste material, containing polythene, plastic, shards of metal in open fields are proving to be a silent killer.
Reportedly in Lucknow alone 1000 cows die each year in the city because of eating polythene. 90% cases happen for multiple organs failure. Over a span of time it has been found that there is excessive accumulation of plastic in the stomach.
Recently TOI reports quote an official which sheds light on how at Jeev Ashraya 50 cows die each month. Post mortem reports show the rumen has 55 to 60 kg of plastic.
Around 25 animals are found dead in the street each month. In most cases plastic is the killer.
Government estimates show a dead cow contains not less than 30 kgs of plastic, but much more is consumed by cows apart from plastic. Stray cows consume highly toxic vermillion, chunri, copper coins and even iron nails which damage intestines, esophagus, and lead to their death.
Most of India’s cows are owned by dairy farmers who let them loose in the city streets to look for free food instead of feeding them
Many cows ingest the entire package plastic bags, rotten food and garbage
This results in a drastic reduction in their milk production ability, and even death
Traffic comes to a standstill as cows walk up the wrong side of the road. Cows eating garbage is a common sight.
The government of India has banned plastic carry bags below 50 microns, and has come up with stringent waste-responsibility laws in the new plastic waste management rules.
As early as 2000, cows in Lucknow were mysteriously dying of some kind of new wasting disease. They were reportedly dying of starvation. When examined inside their stomach was an extraordinary number of plastic bags.
Garbage heaps dot roadsides as Lucknow Municipal Corporation officials and public representatives don’t seem concerned about cleanliness of the city.
Many spots in the city including Papermill colony, Hazratganj, Chowk, Lalkuan, Hewett Road, Alambagh or Chander Nagar are regular defaulters on this front. Given garbage removal is subject to availability of sanitation workers.
Irrespective of the fact the LMC is armed with 90 trucks, 200 small vehicles, 2,700 handcarts, 49 bulldozers and 4,200 sanitation workers to lift 1,500 metric tons of garbage , cleanliness remains a far- fetched dream. Lucknow produces solid waste daily that leads to about 45,000 tonnes of waste every month says a news report in a prominent English daily.
Not surprisingly Lucknow is not among the top 20 cleanest cities of India.
In a decade the LMC has spent more than Rs 500 crore for keeping the city clean The state has spent around Rs 150 crore on a landfill site but to no avail.
A media report says – Around 968 nursing homes, diagnostic centres, laboratories, and blood banks are registered with the LMC. Besides private nursing homes, there are about 25 government hospitals, 2,500 private clinics and 450 pathological laboratories all over the city and all these contribute to biomedical waste. The average per bed bio-medical waste generation in Lucknow ranges between 240 – 824 gm/bed/per day. The maximum bio- medical waste generation is estimated to be 3.7 to 5 metric tonnes per day. Barring SGPGIMS, KGMU and Balrampur Hospital no hospital has a perfect biomedical waste treatment plant, and the LMC’s treatment plant at Mohanlalganj has never been a success.
Given these facts and figures it becomes incumbent on the municipal administration and government to take a call to save the cow and also create a better livable atmosphere in the city.
Comentarios