Fearing The Gau Rakshaks, No Trucker In Western UP Ready To Transport Even The Sick Cows To Vets

Jyoti Singh, 24, who left a corporate job in Gurgaon to do organic farming in her Bulandshahr village, hasn't been able to find a single transporter for more than three weeks now to take her dying cow Moni to a vet.

The cow, injured in a leg, needs to go to a hospital in Bareilly for expert treatment, but such is the fear of rampaging gau rakshaks that despite several and repeated attempts she has just not been able to get any driver brave enough to make that journey.

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"Out of sheer fear of cow vigilantes, no transporter is willing to risk taking the cow to a hospital. Time is running out for Moni, as she can't move at all. If anything happens to her, the government will be responsible," Jyoti said.

She sent 114 tweets to officials and elected representatives, including PM Modi, CM Yogi Aditya Nath and the DM, but to no avail.

"Moni is dying and I can't do anything about it," said Jyoti. On September 28, her family cow broke its leg after a fall and has been lying on the ground ever since. "All this so-called love shown to the holy cow is just political theatre. The officials I met were surprised about my concern for Moni. They pointed out she was already insured," Jyoti said. On Saturday, Moni was taken to a local private veterinary centre. However, her X-ray could not be done because of her size. On November 2, some government veterinary doctors visited her house and advised her to take Moni to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly.

Meerut deputy chief veterinary officer Pramod Kumar said, "There appears to be a fracture in the cow's hip. We don't have the equipment or vehicle, so we cannot do much." He did not comment on the issue of cow vigilantes.

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Most dairy owners who own cows face the same problems that Jyoti has been struggling with. Secretary of Meerut Dairy Association, Haji Aslam Ahmad, said, "If any cow at my dairy falls ill, there is little we can do to treat it. The vet hospital in Meerut is ill-equipped, and no trucker is ready to transport the animal even within the city." President of Meerut Truckers Association, Pinki Chinyoti, said, "There is too much risk in ferrying animals. Cow vigilantes do not listen to any logic and in worst cases set the vehicle on fire."