Bovines on a wing and an udder

On Thursday evening, the cargo terminal of Amritsar's Sree Guru Ram Dass airport played host to 10 high-profile visitors. Dark coats wrapped over their sturdy bodies, the unseemly delegation caught everybody's eye as they slowly trudged from counter to counter on all fours -- completing the formalities for a one-way trip to Abu Dhabi.

On Thursday evening, the cargo terminal of Amritsar's Sree Guru Ram Dass airport played host to 10 high-profile visitors. Dark coats wrapped over their sturdy bodies, the unseemly delegation caught everybody's eye as they slowly trudged from counter to counter on all fours -- completing the formalities for a one-way trip to Abu Dhabi.

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Adjudged as the champions of their race, these high milk-yielding buffaloes from Punjab had been chosen to serve in one of the richest cities of the world. And even as airport officials, including director Suneel Dutt, and personnel from the Patiala-based export company fussed over them, the animals stood calmly on specially constructed platforms that transported them into the aircraft.

This is not the first time that the airport has been visited by high-profile buffaloes. As officials recall, 40 animals of the kind were sent to Abu Dhabi through the Sree Guru Ram Dass airport in 2006.

According to sources, the buffaloes were being imported by one HH Sheikh in the desert city.

Stating that the buffaloes were being taken to Abu Dhabi on an Ilyushin IL-76, Dutt said, "We are committed to providing the best cargo facilities at this airport, and such exports will definitely give it a further fillip."

Describing the manner in which the animals are sent abroad, he said, "Each buffalo is made to stand in specially constructed crates. They are stationed inside the aircraft in a way that they don't touch each other.

All the relevant procedures - including medical examinations - are adopted during the process."