New Delhi's sacred cows become fair game for motorbike musterers

Residents of New Delhi who dream of being cowboys are getting the chance in real life. Under a bizarre new scheme to round up the city's stray cattle, the New Delhi High Court is offering a cash reward for anyone who brings a bovine to book.

The move has triggered road chaos in the Indian capital as bounty hunters on motorbikes compete to round up cattle.

They may be revered as holy in Hinduism, but in New Delhi most people consider the stray cows a menace.

Anyone who has visited the Indian capital will have come across them. They roam the streets and lie down in the most inconsiderate places, including the middle of the city's ring road. They are a frequent cause of accidents, as drivers swerve to avoid collisions.

Almost every year a round-up is ordered and almost every year nothing happens. Finally, the High Court has lost patience with the city authorities, ordering rewards of 2000 rupees ($65) for each cow caught.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (McD) must pay the reward, and recoup the expense by auctioning the captured cows.

It is a handsome offer in a city where that amount is more than half a monthly wage.

"Since the civic authorities have not got any success in ridding the city from cattle, the citizens will have to be involved in this drive," the court said in passing the order. It also ordered the city vet and cattle catchers to give out their personal telephone numbers so citizens who capture cows can notify them.

The Hindustan Times said stick-toting "cowboys" on motorbikes were chasing cows all over the city and authorities were hard put to keep pace with the flood of strays being handed over to state shelters.

"There is no dearth of stray cattle ... 2000 rupees is a lot of money. I will not rest until there is not a single cow or bull left on the roads," bus driver Chander Singh was quoted as saying.

But any New Delhi citizen tempted to get hold of a lasso and head for the streets will have to consider the reaction he risks from the cattle's owners. Although the cows wander the streets like strays, many, in fact, have owners.

The owners take advantage of Hindu culture, in which no one will molest a cow wandering the streets, to graze their animals on New Delhi's verges and rubbish dumps for free.

It is widely suspected that the reason previous municipal schemes to round up the cattle have failed is because the owners have bribed the cow catchers.

That is probably why the court has ordered the cows to be auctioned off. Those who let their cattle stray will now risk losing ownership of them.

- INDEPENDENT, additional reporting Reuters