DDA Sports Complex in mare's nest

German filly dies a painful death after a ditch dug by the authority comes between her and medical care

German filly dies a painful death after a ditch dug by the authority comes between her and medical care

She was a brilliant jumper and had cleared many hurdles on her way to famous victories. But Jasmine Star fell short where it mattered most. And it cost her, her life.

Tragic: German mare Jasmine Star died of prolonged illness at a stable
situated inside Saket Sports Complex. Pic arranged by Rajeev Tyagi

"Jasmine, a German mare, was suffering from an ulcer and was undergoing treatment. She was put in the stable situated at the extreme left corner of the DDA Sports Complex in Saket. On Tuesday around 10 pm, her condition deteriorated and a doctor was called who said that she has to be operated upon within six hours or else she would die.

But we could not take her to the Military's Veterinary Hospital at Delhi Cantt as the stretch leading to the main thoroughfare to Masjid Road was dug up since the past three to four days due to the ongoing construction work for the Commonwealth Games," said Ram Lakhan, the caretaker of Jasmine Star.

"Jasmine lay writhing in pain till morning; she died around 6 am. Even after her death, the authorities didn't cover up the ditch till the afternoon so that we had trouble taking her body out of the complex to bury it," added Ram Lakhan.

Those residing at the stables were managing with a temporary access, created out of a broken iron fence. The passage leads to Masjid Road, the main entry point to the sports complex.

Surender Salot, the owner of the mare, said, "I talked to the authorities in the night after Jasmine's health deteriorated but they didn't take any action. We covered the ditch ourselves in the afternoon the next day after which she was taken by the MCD officials for burial to Gurgaon."

Meanwhile, Vikram Malhotra, a veterinary doctor with the Race Course Hospital, said, "Jasmine was suffering from intestine twist for the last two months and her veins had started drying and rotting. A major surgery was required to revive her, which was not possible at our hospital."

What's also of concern is that the sports complex doesn't have an in-house doctor to take care of the animals residing there.
The stable lies at the far corner of the complex which also has a cricket ground, swimming pools, tennis courts and a yoga ground.

Meanwhile, wildlife activist Devendra Kumar Gupta said, "It was the fault of the DDA authorities because of which Jasmine died a painful death and the owner and the caretaker couldn't do anything."

Prized possession

Jasmine Star was brought from Germany by Surender Salot from a Colonel, who had brought it from Germany to Mussoorie for Rs 70 lakh. She was eight years old. She had also won four prizes at the Delhi Horse Show held in April. She had also taken part in Equestrian Trials for the Asian Games, which are scheduled to take place in Guangzhou in China in October.

u00a0"If they had to dig up the road, they should have at least made some alternate arrangements so that one could get easy access in case of an emergency. We approached the police for registering a case in this regard but they refused, saying it was a civil suit. I had also filed a complaint with DDA authorities and had also raised the matter with the contractor," Gupta added.

A senior police officer confirmed that they had received a call from the owner on the issue but since it was a civil suit they didn't register a case and asked them to approach the concerned officials.