Paucity of funds is impeding efforts to send camels rescued from smugglers back to Rajasthan at a time 10 of them have succumbed to injuries and old age within a span of two months in Jharkhand’s Pakur district.

A total of 29 camels were seized from smugglers in two crackdowns earlier this year.

Forest department officials seized 14 camels on January 11 and another 15 on February 3 while the animals were being crammed inside trucks to be smuggled to Bangladesh through Pakur.

Both the seizures were done at the Gokulpur checkpost in Pakur.

One of the camels that died. Bhola Prasad

“We had arrested several persons and slapped cases under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. They were interstate gang members who had brought the camels from Rajasthan and were taking them through different states of northern India and through Pakur to Malda in Bengal so that they could be smuggled to Bangladesh for meat. Several of the rescued camels that were old and had some ailment died. A meeting of the district animal welfare committee has decided to hand over the surviving camels to an NGO in Rajasthan that looks after such rescued animals. But there will be a huge cost incurred on the transportation of the camels. We are waiting for funds,” said Pakur divisional forest officer Rajnish Kumar.

Pakur deputy commissioner Kuldeep Choudhary said they had written to the animal husbandry department for grant of funds to transport the animals back to Rajasthan.

“We had entrusted the district animal husbandry unit to look after the camels and ensure that they were vaccinated and quarantined for the requisite period. Their quarantine period is over and we are planning to shift them after completing all the required processes,” Choudhary added.

However, sources in the forest department said it would cost not less than Rs 10 lakh to ferry all the 19 surviving camels back to Rajasthan.

“They would have to be given proper space in a big truck and would have to be ferried with proper medicines and food items along with an escort of police team and the animal husbandry unit while being taken to Rajasthan. It would cost nearly Rs 10 lakh. We do not have that much fund and are waiting for government allocation. This is delaying the transport of the animals even though their quarantine period was over on February 26,” said a senior forest official preferring anonymity.

The forest official said camels needed specialised health care, which was not available in Pakur. “We have to manage with a visiting veterinary doctor. But they require a specialised care, which is available in Rajasthan,” the official said.