BENGALURU: At 2.10 am on Thursday, a few unusual commuters arrived via a goods train at Bangarpet Railway Station, Kolar, from Sonepat in Haryana. A herd of 81 cows and 45 calves travelled for three days, making their way across states in six wagons.
These are no ordinary cows either, the high-quality HF cows were purchased by a Kolar-based dairy farm, Sekel Diary. A senior official of the Delhi Railway Division, said, “It is definitely an unusual consignment we dispatched to Bengaluru on September 7, and as far as I remember, we have not transported so many animals via rail. Livestock is usually moved by road.” He added, “We had to get written clearances from both the state and the central governments.
The seller and buyer also had to produce documents, which we cross-checked.” A source said that these superior quality cows cost Rs 1.5 lakh each, and can generate anywhere between 40 to 50 litres of milk per day. The cows have been offloaded and sent via trucks to the farm.
A total of 24 horses were shipped via another goods train from Bengaluru to Jaipur on Tuesday, said E Vijaya, chief public relations officer, South Western Railway. “They were sent after a special request by the Army Service Corps Training Centre, and transported in three parcel vans,” she said.