Staff Reporter :
The High Court has verbally ordered the deputy commissioner (DC) of Cox’s Bazar to ensure sufficient food for horses used for entertainment of tourists in the district.
The court asked Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar to communicate this verbal directive with the DC of Cox’s Bazar immediately so that not a single horse dies due to crisis of food.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order on Wednesday, while hearing a writ petition filed by three rights organizations seeking necessary directives to this effect.
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), Youth Environment Society (YES) and People for Animal Welfare Foundation (PAWF) collectively filed the writ petition as a public interest litigation with the HC on June 29 seeking its directives on the authorities concerned to ensure sufficient food and proper living places for the horses of Cox’s Bazar.
In the petition, they also sought High Court directives upon the authorities to prohibit the horse-drawn carriages across the country.
Lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan who appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petitioners said in the hearing that 46 horses in Cox’s Bazar have reportedly died due to shortage of sufficient food and healthy living places.
There are currently 56 horses for entertaining the tourists in the district, the lawyer said, adding that an organization arranged one month’s food for horses and the month expired on Wednesday.
The court said, it will hold further hearing on the petition at a convenient time later.
Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar said that he had already talked to Cox’s Bazar DC Md Mamunur Rashid and conveyed the HC directive to him.
“The DC informed me that eight to 10 horses died in the last five years due to old age and sickness. No horse died of food crisis. The district administration has already allocated Tk 5,000 for every horse in the district for supply of food,” added the State counsel.
