Animal power has not entirely vanished from India.  Photo: Vikas Choudhary/CSE
Wildlife & Biodiversity

They still serve us, mechanisation notwithstanding

India still depends on animal power in remote or economically poorer locations  

Vikas Choudhary

Mechanisation has seeped into all aspects of human life. Or maybe not. In a vast country like India, animals are still used in remote locations or by people who are not well-to-do. 

In remote locations or in not-so-rich ones, animals are still the main source of energy for a variety of functions.

Animals serve as a major power source for farmers, used for ploughing fields, carting, and transporting both agricultural inputs and outputs.

Mechanisation, after all, has its limits.

India will continue to depend on animal energy. Mechanisation, after all, has its limits and constraints too.