LUCKNOW, May 19 -- Most of the cattle at the Kanha Upvan have already consumed plastic apparently before being housed here and are vulnerable to disease, reflecting the failure of Lucknow Municipal Corporation's anti-plastic drive in the state capital. Officials say 60% of the cattle at this facility suffer illness due to plastic ingestion, and for this, treatment including surgery has to be done to save their lives. Lucknow is estimated to have around 33,000 stray cattle, of which approximately 11,000 are housed in LMC-run shelters, while the remaining 22,000 are in rural areas. Nearly 60% of stray cattle rescued by the LMC and sent to Kanha Upvan go through serious internal complications due to consumption of plastic from spots where open dumping of waste is rampant, said veterinary officials. Despite UP government's Rs 2,000-crore budget in 2025-26 for stray cattle care, many of these animals continue to die after consuming banned plastic bags - a result of the LMC's negligence in enforcing strict action against vendors for using banned polytene. The state has around 13 lakh stray cattle. However, the use and sale of plastic carry bags continues openly, despite the ban. LMC shelters around 11,000 stray cattle, including 10,000 at Kanha Upvan and around 800 at Laxman Gaushala and four operational kanji houses of the LMC. The corporation spends around Rs 15 crore annually on their upkeep. On an average, LMC's Kanha Upvan located in Nadarganj area performs around 15 to 20 such operations every month - adding up to over 200 surgeries annually - to remove plastic waste from cattle stomachs, confirmed Verma. In one extreme case during 2023-24, Kanha Upvan performed nearly 30 surgeries in a month and removed 15 to 20 kg of plastic from a single cow. Cattle have a stomach capacity of up to 200 litres but problems begin when 15 kg or more of plastic accumulates. At that point, the digestive tract gets blocked, and the animal is unable to eat or excrete waste, leading to severe swelling and pain. Each surgery costs LMC around Rs 7,000, including post-operative care. If the number of surgeries exceeds the routine budget, the veterinary team must request special funds from the corporation, said an LMC official. Despite these efforts, the survival rate post-surgery remains only around 50%, due to complications and infections. "Unlike humans, animals don't understand they need rest after surgery. They move around and often reopen wounds, increasing the risk of infection," he added. Most animals brought in from the city streets unknowingly ingest plastic waste, syringes, and other hazardous items while searching for food in open garbage dumps. This ingestion leads to dangerous blockages in their digestive system and often requires costly surgery to save the animal's life. LMC animal husbandry officer Abhinav Verma said the root cause of the crisis is unregulated waste disposal across the city. "If open dumping of plastic and waste stops, the issue of cattle consuming harmful materials will come to an end. Most cases we see are a direct result of cattle eating food thrown out in polythene bags," he added. Verma said Kanha Upvan is the only such facility of LMC where stray cattle are operated. Dr Asheesh Upadhyay, a veterinarian who has been working at Kanha Upvan for seven years, confirmed that 5 to 7 out of every 10 cattle brought to the facility are found with polythene and other harmful substances in their stomachs. "We don't have any equipment to detect plastic ingestion early. We only realize there's a problem when the cattle stop eating, become bloated, or show signs of distress," he said. Another LMC official said despite growing awareness about plastic pollution, Kanha Upvan's team operates without adequate diagnostic tools and manpower. Doctors warn that unless early detection facilities are introduced and the open waste menace is curbed, the problem will continue to strain both animals and civic budgets. Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar did not respond to calls when HT made multiple attempts to contact him for a comment....