Haryana’s ‘Khali’, ‘Yuvraj 2’ draw crowds ahead of Sadar festival in Hyderabad

Two prize-winning buffaloes from Haryana, 'Khali' and 'Yuvraj 2', have arrived in Hyderabad ahead of the Sadar Festival, attracting large crowds with their massive size and imposing appearance.

Hyderabad: Travelling nearly 1,700 kilometres, ‘Khali’ and ‘Yuvraj 2’ arrived in Hyderabad to turn heads with their hulky appearance with people thronging the Musheerabad area to catch a glimpse of these two giants.

Weighing a staggering 1,800 kg each, ‘Khali’ and ‘Yuvraj 2’, buffaloes from Haryana, are set to steal the show at the Sadar Festival, which is scheduled to be held in Musheerabad and Narayanaguda.

Standing 6.5 feet tall, Khali, a four-year-old Murrah breed buffalo, is one of the tallest buffaloes in the country, while two-and-a-half-year-old ‘Yuvraj 2’ is the son of ‘Yuvraj’, a buffalo from Meerut who won the All India Cattle Championship. He is around 6 feet tall.

Along with these two giants, five other buffaloes are set to take part in the festival. With their heads trimmed, bodies clean-shaven and massaged with oil, these buffaloes were presented to the media here ahead of the Sadar festival on November 10.

Just like humans, these buffaloes follow a specific diet and care routine. They are fed around 10 litres of milk daily, along with apples, bananas, grass, grains and wheat bran. Dry fruits are part of their diet to ensure that the animals maintain semen quality.

“This year, both Khali and Yuvraj 2 will be special attractions at the Sadar festival. We start planning for the festival one or two months in advance. We visit Haryana to see the buffaloes and shortlist the ones that have won first or second prizes in cattle championships and competitions,” said Edla Abhinandan Yadav, one of the organisers of the Sadar Festival at Musheerabad.

Also known as ‘Dunnapothula Panduga’ (Festival of the Buffalo Cattle), the Sadar festival is celebrated by the Yadav community on the second day of Diwali. The prized buffaloes, with their horns painted in bright colours and bodies draped with garlands and glitter, are paraded on the roads in grand processions amidst thumping drum beats.

“We also plan to extract semen from these buffaloes for breeding purposes. The offspring of these buffaloes are expected to produce almost twice as much milk as our local buffalo breeds. This will benefit farmers, members of the Yadav community and others who depend on the dairy sector for their livelihood,” he added.