Cow falls in Badshahpur drain in Gurugram, rescued by firefighters and police

Officials of the police and the fire department, with the support of locals, rescued a cow from Badshahpur drain, after it reportedly fell into it, on Saturday, while sifting through the waste dumped at the roadside. The rescue operation took more than an hour, said officials.

The 28-km-long Badshahpur drain starts from Ghata and meets with the Najafgarh drain which, till date, has been the bane of Gurugram causing waterlogging across the city. This is not the first time an animal has fallen into the drain. Similar incidents were reported in February, March, and May this year.

The incident took place at the Darbaripur crossing on Saturday morning. Hundreds of commuters and residents gathered at the spot to witness the rescue operation.

Ved Prakash Yadav, a resident of Badshahpur, spotted the cow in the drain around 7.45 am and informed the Sector 29 fire office. One tender and seven officials reached the spot at 8.20 am and, after an hour, successfully rescued the cow.

“Initially we tried to rescue the animal on our own, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, we thought it would be prudent for us to wait for the fire officials,” Yadav said.

Initially, he distraught animal tried to get out of the drain on its own, but eventually gave up, said the villagers gathered at the spot.

“This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. Earlier in March, a buffalo had also fallen at the same spot. We have written to the officials several times to cover the drain, as the open stretch is dangerous, but repeated requests to the authorities have fallen on deaf ears,” Amar Singh, another resident of Badshahpur, said.

Isham Singh Kashyap, district fire officer, Gurugram, said that their staff and villagers used a rope and pulled the cow out after several attempts. “The cow was distressed as it was surrounded by people. Many attempts had already failed to take it out, but the fire department officials finally managed to rescue it,” he said.

Officials said they do not know for how long the cow remained stuck in the drain. Villagers said they had seen the cow sifting through the garbage in the morning when they had passed the stretch. It is common in the city for cows to be left out in the open, roaming and searching for food, thereby making them vulnerable to accidents.

First Published: Sep 23, 2018 05:08 IST