Uttarakhand HC Issues Notice To Govt Concerning Under-Regulation, Death Of Animals During Pilgrimages
|Dehradun-based animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi filed the petition, and it stated that approximately 20,000 equines (horses, mules, ponies, and donkeys) are used to ferry people and supplies at various pilgrim routes.
Amidst the ongoing Chardham yatra, a famous pilgrimage comprising four sites, the Uttarakhand High Court heard public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the mistreatment and overburdening of equines (horses, mules, ponies, and donkeys) on Wednesday, June 8.
The petition was filed by Dehradun-based animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi, and it stated that approximately 20,000 equines are used to ferry people and supplies at various pilgrim routes.
It noted that since the preparation for the yatra began this year, reports have stated that 600 equines have succumbed to mistreatment in the last two months on just the Kedarnath track, as reported by the Times of India.
'No Resources Or Veterinary Care'
The plea also stated that there is no regulation in terms of their working hours or the distance that the animals are driven in a day, with no regard for sickness or injury either.
There is "no infrastructure or manpower for veterinary care at any point" along the entire route. It added that the nearest veterinary care facility for equines on the Kedarnath route is in the town of Rudraprayag, which is 25 kilometres away, as reported by India Today.
From the diseased, broken and exhausted mules and #horses being tortured for pilgrimage in #KedarnathYatra in #Uttarakhand
— Gauri Maulekhi (@gauri_maulekhi) June 3, 2022
This message is for our policymakers - @pushkardhami ji, @Saurabh1378 ji and @satpalmaharaj ji
Please act now 🙏https://t.co/8ULFOlrTac
Additionally, "no shed or shelter is available" anywhere to guard the animals during "landslides, hail, snow, or inclement weather." The petition also stated that many equines have died due to sheer exhaustion from carrying more weight than they can, disease, lack of veterinary care, injuries, lack of food and water, and colic from drinking cold water available at "such high altitudes."
Need For Immediate Action
The petition demanded the creation of required veterinary facilities, shelters, and regulated movement of animals in limited numbers so that they can be better managed. It also claimed that the overcrowding of the sensitive environmental areas by pilgrims and devotees has added pressure, which is causing the death of animals.
The petition also alleged that the dead bodies of the animals are then thrown into the rivers, contaminating the water bodies, as reported by The Print.
The plea also emphasised that the government should cease all unregulated use of animals for pilgrimages in Uttarakhand and formulate a policy to prevent animal cruelty. It also stressed the need for mandatory "disposal of all liquid and solid waste generated" by animals and humans on and around the pilgrim routes.
Maulekhi also cited that the government and the organisers have completely ignored the mandates and their duties given in the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, 1960 and its Rules, and that has consequences which result in the equines' unavoidable death and countless cruelties inflicted on them.
Orders By HC
The bench, headed by acting Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra, acted on the PIL filed by Gauri Maulekhi. It has asked the Uttarakhand government, the animal husbandry department, and the district magistrates of the districts where the Char Dham shrines are located to file a reply within 15 days about the steps to be taken to ensure the safety of the mules and horses in the yatra.
The HC has also asked the government to regulate the capacity that the mules and horses can carry and to make sure that there are enough food and water facilities available for them. The next hearing is decided to be on June 22.
Also Read: 'First Time In History': Cancer Vanishes From Every Patient During US's Experimental Drug Trial