The animals of Uttarakhand still need help: 3,000 mules and 1,500 equines stranded

It’s been two weeks since floods ravaged Uttarakhand but its animals are still bearing the brunt — stuck in inaccessible areas with no food. They cannot be airlifted and are stranded in areas inaccessible by foot.

On Friday, reports said a few animals had attacked people in the Kedarnath area and had tried to enter tents and eat people. “Earlier that day I had said in an interview that if we didn’t feed these stranded animals, they would soon start attacking each other and humans,” said Kamna Pandey, co-opted member of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). Initially this was rubbished as wild speculation but as news trickled in, it attracted the government’s attention.

At a high-level meeting on Friday evening, Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna issued directives to send choppers to the areas and ensure the animals don’t starve. On Saturday, two choppers carrying fodder were sent out to the Badrinath and Kedarnath areas.       

There are believed to be 3,000 mules stranded in Hemkund, Kedarnath and Govindghat. 

As reported by dna last week, Gauri Mulekhi from PFA Uttarakhand and a team are still on location. When contacted, Mulekhi and a volunteer Pulkit Singh were setting out to access the situation at Kedarnath. “The last time we went there, there were dead bodies all around,” says Mulekhi.

At Gaurikund there are still a number of horses, cows, buffaloes and dogs. It is believed that there are over 1,000 animals still stuck at Kedarnath.

There are around 1,000-1,500 equines stranded on the Hemkund Track at Govind Ghat along with their owners. There are another 200-odd stranded in Ghangaria. On Friday for the first time, 20-odd bags of fodder were air-dropped for these animals which resulted in fight among the equine owners. After much persuasion from Maneka Gandhi and the PFA Uttarakhand, the army has built a bridge to connect Gaurikund, Raambara and Jungle chatti through which the stranded mules are being taken to safety. On Saturday a couple of choppers made their way out to drop food at Gaucher, Badrinath and Kedarnath area.

Several teams from PFA Lucknow, Dehradun and Faridabad, along with Help Animals India and AWBI are working in different areas. “People are falling over each other to help us,” said Manavi Bhatt, PFA Dehradun. “But what we need is the government to act. There is ample food but it is not reaching the animals. We need more choppers to drop food,” she adds. 

Activists say the priority should be a continuous supply of fodder for the animals and ensuring that the animals are evacuated at the earliest.

When contacted, Dr Umakant Panwar, principal secretary, Uttarakhand government, said they have sent aid for the animals in Kedarnath Valley and Govind Ghat. He, however, had no official figures on the number of deaths or the animals still trapped.

Visit the following link for details on how to donate to the NGOs doing animal relief in Uttarakhand: https://www.facebook.com/sanjayshrivastava/posts/10151512680135735