Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Apr 19: With the death of a cow owned by Ammu in Henberu near Ottinene near Byndoor in the taluk on Wednesday, the death toll of cattle in the village has touched 81. Two more cows have taken ill. After death of buffaloes was reported from Todalli near Henberu, a team of veterinarians rushed to that village on Wednesday.

The villagers, who have lost a number of cattle during the last some days, have blamed the department of failing to find out the specific reason for the sudden death of their cattle, although they strongly feel that expired medicines and other things dumped at Ottinene are to blame for this phenomenon. The department says it had initially expected to receive report on the deaths based on tests on viscera collected from deceased cattle on April 16. One of the veterinary doctors, Dr Nagaraj, said he expects to receive this report on Thursday.

In the meanwhile, the district and local administrative have miserably failed to stop the practice of throwing waste at Ottinene hillock. Huge pile of waste is found at the bottom of a board that bans disposal of waste at the spot. Plastic, expired medicines, waste from slaughter houses etc continue to get dumped there, mostly by vehicles which approach the area with a load of waste at around midnight. Moreover, several animal carcasses including the cows which died recently, have been tossed into the gorge nearby instead of burying them. As a result, a nauseous stench pervades the area, giving rise to the fear about likely spread of diseases in adjoining villages.