The New Indian Express ·
Quick Take | The cattle stake
Kerala has just retired a job. Sosamma, the state’s last cattle-pound keeper, spent 30 years rounding up stray cattle and holding them until their owners reclaimed them. Unclaimed animals could be auctioned. The job became obsolete as animal-control systems changed, but the bovine mess is only worsening. Across India, abandoned cattle clog roads and highways, destroy crops and endanger lives; farmers and dairies discard male calves and dry cows when holding them becomes unviable. Gaushalas have hardly filled the breach. The Supreme Court recently flagged the danger again. Perhaps it’s time to bring back Sosamma—for all we know, she’s still the person properly qualified for a job we thought we didn’t need.