Can we ever solve Indian cities’ stray cattle problem?

Urban sprawl, shrinking grazing spaces and ever increasing curbs on culling older cows combine to put paid to civic bodies’ attempts to rein in the ‘nuisance’.

Off the road, behind some bushes, on a dusty patch of land, there are about a dozen cows, tied to wooden stumps nailed to the ground. Mukesh Rabari cheerfully introduces them to me: “This one’s Gir, this one’s Gopi and this one’s Topi.”

Topi, in Gujarati, means cap. Why the name? I ask.

“Because when she was young, her hair would rise up in a tuft,” says Mukesh. Topi’s mane tamed as she grew up. But even today, if her owners call her by the name, she looks up, mildly annoyed at being distracted from her bale of hay.

Mukesh …

Author

Omkar Khandekar

Omkar specializes in long-form narrative features and has reported from India, the UK, Germany and the Maldives. He writes across beats, from politics and crime to cinema and sports. His works have been published in Indian and international outlets including The Caravan, Mint Lounge, the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Huffington Post.

Senior Features Writer

omkar@mailtmc.com

Delhi