Journalism of Courage
As if it wasnt besieged by enough problems already,the Uttarakhand government now has to contend with the stink.
It can breath a little easy,however,thanks to the cold weather conditions that have slowed the decomposition of dead mules scattered across the Kedar valley.
If the bodies are in their proper shape,the veterinary doctors would not be able to do postmortem examination. But they would clear legal formalities for issuing death certificates, a source in the animal husbandry told The Indian Express.
The government does not have an estimate of dead mules lying in Kedar,partly because Rambada,which housed a mule stand,is still cut off,but sources put their number at over 100. The problem is there is no access to Rambada as of now, the source said.
The animal husbandry had issued health certificates for about 5,000 mules that were employed to carry pilgrims up the mountain to Kedarnath,the sources said.
The certificate contain description of mules such as physical appearance,colour of tail,identification mark, the source said.
These certificates would help the team camping at Guptakashi estimate the number of dead mules and prepare a list of missing ones.
Whatever is done in case of human bodies and missing persons,we are supposed to do the same in case of mules, the source added.
Mule is a critical means of transportation in the hills of Uttarakhand,especially for pilgrims,and costs anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The state government gives only Rs 20,000 in case of the death of an animal in a natural calamity, the source said,but,this time,he added,the state might provide better compensation.
