SHAMLI: A buffalo cart race on National Highway 709B near the Shamli-Baghpat border disrupted traffic even as dense fog posed a serious threat to travellers at midnight on Friday, adding to rising concerns about highway safety. The event, captured in a video that is being shared widely, purportedly showed participants racing buffalo carts while others followed recklessly in vehicles, blocking both lanes of the highway.
Shamli SP Ramsevak Gautam said, “Based on the video, a case has been registered against around 30 individuals at the Kandhla police station Instructions have been issued to identify the accused and take appropriate action.”
The race allegedly began in the Ramala police station area of Baghpat and extended towards the Alum region in Shamli. The video also showed buffaloes being subjected to severe beatings to force them to run faster. Police have invoked the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and Section 281 of the BNS (rash driving or riding in a public way) against the accused, with efforts ongoing to identify them using video evidence.
A similar incident was reported a day earlier on a highway in Meerut, where another buffalo cart race took place. In western Uttar Pradesh, such races are a tradition driven by pride and rivalry among participants from various villages. Buffaloes are often forced to run distances of up to 40km at speeds of 80kmph, with sharp sticks and rods used to prod them painfully.
