Illegal dairies: Behind the slow takeover of Delhi roads by cattle

In the past fortnight, at least two people died in the city due to stray cattle. On August 13, a 75-year-old man was killed after he was attacked by a cow while on an evening walk in Rohini. Just two days later, another man was killed when his motorcycle struck a cow on Outer Ring Road near Burari.
Once restricted only to areas on the city’s outskirts or near rural belts, stray cattle have slowly but steadily become a common sight throughout Delhi, sparing not even residential localities in the heart of the Capital.
They often sit in the middle of roads, disrupting traffic on expressways, and feeding on roadside shrubs and waste.
The threat they pose to residents increases exponentially at night, particularly in areas that are not well lit. With a drop in traffic, cattle often occupy the middle of the road, where they become a hazard for motorists.
The root of the problem, however, is the issue of dozens of illegal dairies scattered throughout the city. These dairies, which did not shift to planned areas where other dairies were located, let their bovines out to scavenge from garbage dumps and roadside shrubs.
While civic agencies claim that they clear around 10,000 stray cattle every year from the city’s streets, the impact, however, is clearly not visible on the ground.
Locals and RWAs allege that it is far too little to have an impact as most regions continue to be plagued by stray cattle despite dozens of complaints filed.
While the crux of the issue remains lax enforcement and rampant operations of illegal dairies in residential areas, the problem is compounded by the fact that three out of four designated cow shelters in Delhi are operating at full capacity translating to a shortage of space for captured cows, and multiplicity of agencies involved in the process.
In Lodhi Colony, home to the famous “art district” project in Delhi, stray cattle have become a menace for residents. The Lodhi Colony RWA says its complaints to authorities have not yielded any result.
Releasing a series of videos and pictures on social media platforms such as X, in which around a dozen stray cattle are seen sitting on key avenue roads, the RWA said: “Both MCD and NDMC are not acting on our complaints. The main roads of the colony known as Lodhi Art District are now home to cows… There is an outbreak of these stray cum pet animals in the colony in the heart of Delhi.”
During a spot check last week, HT found dozens of stray cattle feeding on plants in the central verge of roads and disrupting traffic near Meharchand Market, India Habitat Centre, and the CGO complex.
Anirudh Goswami, a tourist from Mumbai visiting the art district, said he was surprised to see so many cows in the residential area. “Stray cattle are present everywhere in India, but seeing them even in such a well-developed area in the middle of the Capital is indeed surprising,” Goswami said.
Stray cattle were also spotted near the Safdarjung flyover towards Brigadier Hoshiar Singh Marg.
Ashok Randhawa, who heads the mini-market association in Sarojini Nagar, said that dairy owners in areas like Pillanji leave their cattle on the streets after milking them in the morning. “They have become a hazard, especially in the evening as most of the street lights are not working due to redevelopment work. Our customers feel unsafe. How can illegal dairies be allowed in NDMC areas?” he said.
New Delhi areas are not alone.
During last week’s spot-checks, HT found stray cattle roaming on avenue roads nearly throughout the city – areas such as Vasant Vihar, RK Puram, Vasant Kunj, Naraina, Kalkaji, Kotla, Paschim Vihar, and Khichripur all faced the issue.
Chetan Sharma, from Greater Kailash 2 who heads the confederation of NCR RWAs, said that the stray cattle issue is also surfacing in their areas. “It used to be a rare sight in south Delhi, but now cattle can be seen roaming in GK2 and CR Park. With such a high traffic load on the road, the possibility of mishap increases at night when visibility drops.”
Sharma said that people keep cattle in Tughlaqabad and Govindpuri with the collusion of authorities, adding that if corporations are indeed serious about tackling the issue, they should run a drive to capture strays from garbage points.
The areas around Vasant Vihar and Vasant Kunj also suffer from the stray cattle menace. Gurpreet Bindra, president of the Vasant Vihar RWA, said that cattle can be seen walking down the arterial roads of the locality. “We have cows and buffaloes marching on the roads of Vasant Vihar at any point of the day. Two days back, a cow gave birth to a calf… People have illegal dairies in nearby areas such as Kusumpur Pahadi and Indra Market, and these cattle are let loose on the roads. It is a dangerous traffic hazard. The problem has now spread all over south Delhi,” Bindra said.
In Kalkaji, the entire stretch of Guru Ravidas Marg was dotted with a dozen cows loitering around garbage dumps feeding on kitchen waste thrown in polybags.
At a garbage receptacle (dhalao) in central Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, the Capital’s failed plastic ban and feeble attempts to control stray cattle is on full display, with cows eating plastic bags a common sight
In east Delhi, the situation is particularly worrisome in places such as Ghazipur, where herds of cows often move in the middle of the Delhi-Meerut expressway, creating an incredibly dangerous situation for motorists, who often travel at high speeds.
BS Vohra, who heads the East Delhi RWA joint front and lives in Krishna Nagar, said that most dairies in this part of the city have been relocated to Ghazipur, but stray cattle are still sighted on the road.
“We can see herds roaming around in Ghondli Chowk, Patparganj, or Jheel, as well as the Delhi-Meerut expressway. One, this clearly indicates that people are keeping cattle in residential areas secretly… Two, permitted dairies in Ghazipur should not let their animals loose to graze. Not only are cattle feeding on plastic, commuters too are suffering due to this illegality,” he said.
Residents complain that the problem is not as much a stray cattle population issue, but has more to do with people who keep cattle and leave them to roam the streets to scrounge food.
MCD spends several crores in the name of tackling the stray cattle problem every year, but it hasn’t helped with either the reduction in their numbers, but there’s also been no drop in instances of accidents.
Civic officials said they estimate that more than 100 stray cattle-related accidents — both fatal and non-fatal — are reported annually, and each accident is followed by a drive to remove cattle from that particular area.
MCD did not officially respond to queries for comment.
However, an MCD official, on condition of anonymity, said that regular drives are carried out by the civic body to pick up stray cattle, but tackling the problem needs an integrated approach as it will require co-operations from various agencies in Delhi as well as neighbouring states.
A second MCD official said that the civic body is only tasked to capture the stray cattle and drop them off at cow shelters designated by the Delhi government’s animal husbandry department. “The operation of these gaushalas does not fall under the corporation,” the official said.
Meanwhile, an NDMC spokesperson said that action will be taken against stray cattle by the veterinary department, while a second official opined that the animals may have strayed over from MCD areas.
Cows captured in Delhi are sent to one of the four gaushalas.
Gopal Gausadan in Harewali village has a capacity of 3,200 animals; Sri Krishna in Bawana for 7,600 cattle; Manav Gausadan in Rewla Khanpur for 500 cattle and Dabur Hare Krishna Gaushala in Surhera with a capacity of 4,000. The fifth gaushala – Acharya Sushil Muni in Ghumanhera– was closed down due to rampant mismanagement in 2018, and is yet to reopen.
MCD did not provide data on occupancy level. However, an official from the veterinary department said that all but one unit at Surhera are filled to capacity.
“Animal husbandry department needs to open more gaushalas in other parts of the city which will also solve the logistics problem,” the official cited above said.
In an attempt to tackle the root cause of the stray cattle menace, the Delhi high court in 2007 had ordered MCD to relocate all illegal dairies operating from residential areas to planned dairy colonies. Former veterinary director of South MCD, Dr Ravindra Sharma said that the continued problem of stray cattle in Delhi is linked with unchecked continued influx of cattle from other states, the need to open more gaushalas, funds for fodder for captured cows, and steeper penalties for owners.
The city needs to completely tag, either through chips or ear tags, the cattle population so that owners can be identified and cows which are captured and sent to gaushalas don’t return, he said. “There is a continued influx of more cattle from neighbouring states without any check at the borders. Only valid licensed dairies should be allowed to bring cattle in Delhi,” he added.
The civic bodies and government contribute ₹20 each for one cow a day towards the maintenance of cattle in gaushalas. On multiple occasions over the last few years, these gaushalas had threatened that they would not be able to take any more cattle unless their dues were paid.
Earlier in January, the pendency had reached ₹55 crore, a second civic official added.
Amid this repeated tussle between civic authorities and officials, the city residents remain the ones who have to dodge cattle daily.