No one to care for holy cows at Vemulawada

Vemulawada(Karimnagar): It is a common practice for devotees of Sri Raja Rajeswara temple to offer young oxen, a unique feature in the country itself, to fulfil their desires and wishes. Of late these preferred animals are facing a tough time as none are ready to offer treatment even when they are suffering from injuries.

These animals are suffering in temple’s cow shelter because of extremely hot weather conditions. They are being fed only dry fodder and denied green grass, groundnut powder. Although the temple officials claim that they are sprinkling water on them once in an hour it is obvious that they are lying.

The officials boast of spending Rs 50 lakh to take care of animals every year, in spite of getting the lion’s share of the temple earnings. The shrine is well-known for its highest revenue in the State itself. Yet the oxen are neglected, which is apparent from their skinny appearance.

The sad plight of the animals came to light after The Hans India exposed the happenings in the temple, besides the goshala. They are being made to suffer in silence in extremely hot weather conditions under the cover of tin sheets. They are exposed to the vagaries of nature particularly at a time when transformers in substations are being kept cool using water coolers.

The officials’ negligence is apparent as they failed to arrange a protective cover by placing green fodder on the tin roofs of shelter. The expose proved that the officials’ claims of sprinkling water every hour and providing green fodder to the animals was false. They were least concerned about the young oxen even when they are suffering from injuries while moving on the temple premises.

The glaring indifference of officials came to light when a young animal died on Friday on the road unable to suffer the heat. They were unmoved by the incident. If the officials were really committed to the welfare of the animals in the shed they should have made proper arrangements to provide relief to the oxen. But they failed to initiate any action.

Besides, about 120 oxen are forced to take rides around the Devasthanam area, amid the thrashing by the caretakers, in three shifts. The animals look at the devotees with a hope of being offered some green fodder for getting relief. Even the crowded sheds maintained by the temple need urgent repairs.

There has been a clear case for the officials to explain on what they are incurring the expenditure of Rs 50 lakh every year. The animals donated by the devotees are handed over to the Telangana goshala officials for donating them to farmers elsewhere in the State.