25k cattle on Delhi streets: Civic body seeks more shelters to tackle problem

Civic officials said five large shelters, each housing 4,000-5,000 cattle, are urgently needed as pickup drives often face space constraints.

Delhi’s stray cattle problem is far bigger than the city’s existing shelters can handle. More than 25,000 cattle are estimated to be roaming the capital’s streets, according to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s veterinary department, while its four government-sanctioned cow shelters are already housing more animals than their combined capacity.

Delhi’s civic body picks up 50-60 stray cattle every day, but its four approved shelters are already housing more animals than their capacity. (HT Archive)

With field teams picking up 50-60 stray cattle every day, officials have told the civic body’s standing committee that at least five more large shelters are urgently needed.

“The four cow shelters have more animals than their capacity of 19,838. Only one unit is able to accommodate more cows, but we sometimes have to halt the drives due to a shortage of space. Currently, around 50-60 cows are being picked up every day. We need at least five large cow shelters, each with a capacity of 4,000-5,000,” a senior veterinary department official said.

Stray cattle linked to multiple road accidents

In June this year, a cow severely injured a child and a person who rushed to the child’s aid in Tughlakabad Extension. Days later, on June 24, a cow attacked councillor Shashi Chandna in Mandawali, leaving her with injuries to her head and ribs.

Before that, in March 2025, two men died in separate incidents involving stray bulls . Sixty-seven-year-old Ashok Kumar after being attacked in Alipur, and Mohammad Sanaullah after he was caught in the middle of a fight between two bulls in Narela.

No new shelter opened despite government plans

Although the Delhi government announced last year that it planned to build a cow shelter in each of the 13 districts and later said it had identified sites at seven locations, not a single new shelter has been opened over the past year.

“Six cow shelters were set up in the city in the late 1990s — three each in Narela, Bawana and Najafgarh. While one unit was closed during the initial allotment phase, the second unit, Acharya Sushil Muni Gaushala, was shut in 2018 due to mismanagement and a high mortality rate among cows. We have written multiple times that more space for cattle is needed, but no new unit has been opened since then,” a second official said.

Four operational shelters already over capacity

The shelters in Narela are in a much worse condition, while those in Najafgarh are being used to accommodate emergency cases. The four operational cow shelters are located on the city’s outskirts at Dabur Hare Krishna in Surhera, Manav Gausadan in Rewla Khanpur, Gopal Gosadan in Harewali and Sri Krishna in Bawana’s Sultanpur Dabas.

“Surhera unit has 4,933 cows, while Rewla shelter has 2,982. The other two shelters are also above capacity,” the second official said.

“The animal husbandry department has the mandate to develop these shelters under the Delhi Agriculture Cattle Preservation Act. We have recommended that new units be opened as all four existing gaushalas are packed to the brim,” the official added.

Under the current arrangement, stray cattle caught by the municipal corporations’ veterinary department are handed over to cow shelters approved by the animal husbandry department.

MCD, Delhi government share ₹40 daily upkeep cost

The government pays ₹40 per day for each stray cow lodged at these shelters — ₹20 from the MCD and ₹20 from the Delhi government. Shelter operators have also complained of pending payments from the municipal corporations and rising operational costs.

Stray cattle, once largely confined to parts of Outer Delhi and areas near rural belts, can now be seen idling in the middle of roads, disrupting traffic on expressways and feeding on garbage near dhalaos and roadside shrubs, including in parts of central Delhi. The problem is also linked to illegal dairies that have not relocated to the planned dairy colonies on the city’s outskirts.

Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma expressed concern over the problem of abandoned cattle in Delhi, saying their presence on roads affects traffic movement and increases the risk of accidents. She said a letter would be written to the Delhi government seeking land for new cow shelters so that cattle roaming the streets can be shifted to designated facilities.