This is the heroic moment locals helped a calf stuck in a drain in India.

Footage shows the distressed animal being pulled to safety with a rope tied around its body in front of the degree hostel in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, on October 27.

The Atal Kamdhenu Gau Sewa Sansthan team, led by the NGO's chairman, Gaurav Mishra, assisted in the recovery.

In India, devout locals follow Hindu customs, with cows regarded as sacred animals that cannot be eaten or slaughtered once they have stopped producing milk. The majority of states ban the sale or slaughter of cows.

Instead of dealing with the economic burden of keeping their spent cattle, many farmers let the beasts roam the streets - leading to chaos when the animals become agitated and turn their fury on humans.