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Ban on bullock cart race goes for a toss in Ludhiana
The bullock cart race was broadcast live on YouTube; animal rights activists say they flagged the event a day prior, but no action was taken by police
Despite a ban in place, a local group conducted bullock cart races in Ghudani Kalan village of Payal.
The race, which saw a Ghudani Kalan village resident win six prizes, was also broadcast live on a Youtube channel.
A few animal rights activists, meanwhile, said they had brought the planned event to the attention of police and district administration a day prior, but no action was taken. They added that the race organisers later threatened them.
The activists have since decided to pursue the matter with the country’s apex court, where the matter of the ban on bullock cart race is subjudice. They have also alleged involvement of politically-influential people in the race and the organisers inviting bets on the same..
Suman Virmani, one of the activists, said they had received information about the group organising bullock cart races in the village on December 12 — following which they informed the local authorities.
Upon being contacted, deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Payal) Harsimrat Singh said the police, along with animal husbandry department officials, went to the venue after receiving the information and stopped the race. He added that they were not aware whether the organisers went ahead with the races.
Another group had earlier on December 8 attempted to organise a bullock cart race in Shankar village, Dehlon. The district administration, along with the veterinary department, had at the time intervened and stopped the race.
