In the wake of public outrage over cattle carcasses lying abandoned in a dumping yard, the Municipal Council in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer on Monday started the process of burying them. The civic body has also decided to terminate the bone disposal contractor’s services.

Video footage from a landfill on Ramgarh road, 7 km from the district headquarters, circulating on social media showed hundreds of rotting cattle carcasses. This led to an outrage by the residents, while the cow protection groups demanded action.

Municipal Commissioner Lajpal Singh Sodha said the contractor was allotted space at the dumping yard for the disposal of dead animals. “Typically, dead animals collected from the city are dried for a day or two before being buried in pits according to the disposal process. The carcasses had accumulated over several days after the contractor failed to dispose them of properly,” Mr. Sodha said.

The civic body’s teams rushed to the site in view of the public anger and deployed earth-moving equipment to dig pits for the burial of carcasses decomposing in the open.

While Jaisalmer Collector Anupama Jorwal has sought a report on the incident, the Municipal Council cancelled the contract and confiscated the contractor’s security deposit. Mr. Sodha said the contractor would be blacklisted from participating in any contract in future. 

The safe burial of carcasses will also provide relief to the nearby residents from the foul smell and environmental contamination spreading in the area.Mr. Sodha He said the administration had acted immediately upon receiving the reports of negligence in the task handed down to the contractor.