Kundapur: Consumption of Toxic Waste - Over 50 Cattle Die
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, Apr 13: Coming in a series of death of cattle after consuming poisonous substances, expired medicines, and refuse of slaughter houses being abandoned in an open area at Ottinene within Paduvari gram panchayat near Byndoor, over 25 cattle died on Thursday April 12. With this, the waste dump here has accounted for over 50 lives of cattle.
The villagers of nearby places like Paduvari and Henberu say their cattle, which graze at Ottinene, have been suddenly collapsing and breathing their last in their cattle sheds since the last several weeks. Just before their deaths, the stomachs of these cattle are bloated, and animated concussion of their feet is observed. Blood oozes out of their eyelids, mouths, and noses. These families, which mainly depend upon income derived from dairying, have become listless and agitated at this sudden turn of events.
A team of veterinary officers from Byndoor, after noticing the phenomenon, has camped in the area. However, they have not been able to save the lives of these cattle. They are also busy in conducting post mortems. One of the veterinary officers, Nagaraj, told the media persons that most of the cattle died after eating poisonous waste. He felt they would have been able to save the lives of at least some of the cattle, if the health problem was diagnosed in early stages. Another veterinary officer, Manjunath, said that tests would be conducted to find out whether these deaths were caused by expired medicines found at Ottinene or otherwise.
The haunted spot where the vast heap of waste is found is located by the side of national highway 66. In addition to various vehicles passing through the highway which dump carcasses of dead animals and waste from slaughter houses, even hotels, shops, salons etc from Byndoor and Shiroor dispose off their waste here. The place reeks, and out of date items and expired medicines that are discharged here, have been adding to the woes of the people.
On Thursday, bodies of over 15 cows and about 10 carcasses of pigs disposed of by passing vehicles at Ottinene, were buried.