Outrage over viral cattle carcass video forces Jaisalmer body to launch mass burials

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Highlighting a critical hygiene and ecological emergency, hundreds of cattle carcasses were discovered abandoned in the open at the Baragaon waste disposal facility, situated roughly seven kilometres outside Jaisalmer.

The remains, reportedly left completely exposed due to severe lapses by an independent contractor, resulted in an overwhelming stench and heightened fears of environmental contamination throughout neighboring localities.

The crisis came to light after footage documenting the state of the disposal ground gained traction online, prompting immediate intervention by the local civic body.

Following the backlash over the decomposing remains scattered across the dumping site, the Municipal Council administration launched an urgent clean-up operation.

Taking direct note of the violation, Municipal Council Commissioner Lajpal Singh Sodha served a formal show-cause notice to the contractor tasked with retrieving deceased animals and handling the processing of their skin and bones.

The contractor, identified as Goparam from Suwala in the Barmer district, faces allegations of flouting proper waste management guidelines by scattering the carcasses across open terrain rather than transferring them to assigned burial grounds.

According to municipal authorities, designated trenches had already been set aside specifically for burying animal remains. Nevertheless, the contractor supposedly ignored these protocols, leading to masses of livestock decaying in the open air.

Acting on the Commissioner's orders, personnel from the sanitation department and the Municipal Council’s Public Health Branch arrived at the location to commence corrective operations. Using earthmovers, workers dug deep trenches to inter the cattle remains and other animal carcasses strewn across the ground.

Civic officials confirmed that the mass burial was executed to halt further ecological degradation and to alleviate the pungent odor plaguing the surrounding communities.

The Municipal Council has threatened aggressive punitive measures against the contractor. Authorities made it clear that if the response to the show-cause notice fails to justify the negligence, the contract allocated for carcass and bone management for the 2025–26 fiscal period will be immediately terminated. Furthermore, the civic body noted that the contractor’s security funds could face forfeiture alongside potential blacklisting from securing any future government projects.

Emphasising a zero-tolerance policy, Commissioner Lajpal Singh Sodha noted that misconduct regarding the disposal of dead livestock would face strict consequences. He stated that the local government has demanded a comprehensive clarification and guaranteed that severe penalties will be enacted if regulatory breaches are verified.

IANS