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| Taking the bull by the horns | | Cows, dogs, camels, donkeys, monkeys | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, FEB 8
Rapists and terrorists alone do not make news in the national capital. Animals, too, have for quite some time now been newsworthy. As if stray cows and wandering dogs were not enough on Delhi roads, it is now the turn of musing camels and wistful donkeys to hold up city's traffic.
Delhi that has the highest congestion of vehicles in India had yet another brush with paradox just the other day. Expensive foreign cars and mislaid animals were on roads all at the same time. A fugitive Border Security Force's camel ran on the streets, banged Hondas and Hyundais, even as policemen chased the animal till it was captured at India Gate. Traffic was held up for three hours.
In another case, some donkeys refused to budge from a busy flyover. Police tried to shoo them away, but they could not as vehicles blocked the road. Police said that donkeys were in "philosophical mind" unruffled by the chaos they had created. There gridlock resulted in thousands of relentlessly honking cars caught up in rush hours in this outmoded yet out of the ordinary experience. The aggressive camel that ran across from Dhaula Kuan flyover even tried holding up few VIP movements, while the donkeys at Mahipalpur flyover simply stood their ground.
Delhi is said to be one of the most modern cities in the world. Yet, some 55,000 stray animals roam Delhi's streets. About 8,000 monkeys are living at the government headquarters of North Block and South Block alone. All attempts to get rid of them have failed.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) started a scheme: catch a stray animal and earn Rs 2,000. Many Delhites tried their luck; tied up pigs, monkeys, dogs and cows for cash.
But the scheme had to be called off, as there was no space to keep them. The authorities then started selling the same animal to a new owner. People started taking advantage by bringing back the same animal again for the reward.
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