7,000 cattle ‘moo’ into Punjab town, turn heads

Authorities in the border state of Punjab went into a huddle after they learnt of an unexpected feisty advance of an alarming magnitude towards the sacred town of Sultanpur Lodi.

The revered town, which has been the epicentre of the celebration for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, had already been swamped by lakhs of devotees. Authorities had no clue how to manage the unprecedented cattle march— a whopping number of over 7,000 cattle heads— set in motion after a Nihang sect ventured into a journey to reach Sultanpur Lodi along with their cattle which they had been nursing for long. Authorities swung into action to stop the entry of the bovines about 20 km away from the town.

With the cattle owners refusing to go back, hectic negotiations ensued for two days.

With no headway, a temporary truce was arrived at as thousands of cattle were pushed into a college stadium in Fattudhinga village.

The administration and villagers provided fodder to the ‘bovine guests.’

On Monday morning sanity finally prevailed with the retreat of the 7,000 animals. The chaos was averted.

Had they not retreated, government’s crores of rupees spent on upkeep, cleanliness and plantation in Sultanpur Lodi might have gone down the drain. The Nihang sect argued they had been doing this for years.