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."
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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.
u00a0An official at the sports complex said that the mare had been ill for some time and that was the cause of her death. "It has nothing to do with the ongoing construction work for the Commonwealth Games. The horse died because of abdominal problems," he said.
Officials associated with other sports in the complex expressed shock at the incident but they too refused to blame the ongoing construction work for the death of the animal.
| The Other Side |
| DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts by MiD DAY. |
Long ride
The owner, Surender Salot, an ardent horse lover, runs a horse riding school in the sports complex after taking the place from DDA on rent. His son, Angad regularly participates in Show Jumping and other competitions. He had 14 horses including three ponies.
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