Biker, 19, killed after hitting stray cattle in central Delhi

Once restricted only to areas on the city’s outskirts and near rural belts, stray cattle have slowly but steadily become a common sight throughout the city, sparing not even residential localities in the heart of New Delhi

A 19-year-old man died after his motorcycle allegedly rammed into a bull that appeared suddenly in the middle of a busy road in central Delhi late on Sunday evening -- the third such incident over the last month in the Capital.

This is the third incident of death due to stray cattle in past month, indicating the growing crisis in the city. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Sunday’s accident took place on Simon Bolivar Marg, near Chanakyapuri, in New Delhi area in the evening, police said on Monday.

They said the deceased was on a Royal Enfield bike when the bull suddenly appeared in front of him and he lost balance and rammed into the animal. The man, identified as Md Ehtesham, was taken to a hospital by locals where he was declared brought dead, officers said.

The bull also suffered multiple injuries and is undergoing treatment.

Police were informed about the accident at around 7.45pm, DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said. When local staff rushed to the spot, they found a damaged black motocycle on the footpath with blood on the road.

“A black bull was also lying injured on the road. We informed the authorities and started looking for the victim. Commuters had called us after the accident and also helped the victim by rushing him to RML Hospital,” said the DCP.

Once restricted only to areas on the city’s outskirts and near rural belts, stray cattle have slowly but steadily become a common sight throughout the city, sparing not even residential localities in the heart of New Delhi. They often sit in the middle of roads, disrupting traffic on expressways, and feeding on roadside shrubs and garbage. The threat they pose to residents increases exponentially at night, particularly in areas that aren’t well-lit.

While the crux of the issue remains lax enforcement and rampant operations of illegal dairies in residential areas and urban villages, the problem is compounded by the fact that three out of four designated cow shelters in Delhi are operating at full capacity translating to a shortage of space for captured cows, and multiplicity of agencies involved in the process.

An NDMC official said that four cattle catching vans are deployed to capture the stray cattle and regular drives are being carried out in areas from where complaints are received. “Recently, we have held multiple drives near Lodhi Colony areas. The stray cattle enter our jurisdiction areas from the MCD areas,” official added.

Under the existing arrangement, the local bodies are tasked with capturing the stray cattle from the streets and transporting them to the cow shelters designated by the animal husbandry department of Delhi government. The captured cow are supposed to be taken care of by the designated cow shelters. There were five designated cow shelters in the city but one such unit, Acharya Sushil Muni, was closed down due to rampant mismanagement in 2018. The remaining four-- Gopal Gausadan in Harewali village; Sri Krishna in Bawana; Manav Gausadan in Rewla Khanpur and Dabur Hare Krishna Gaushala in Surhera-- are all located on the periphery of the city.