A common sight in Dera Bassi

Satinder Pal Singh

Dera Bassi, August 13

Anuj, a resident of Dera Bassi, was returning on his motorcycle when all of a sudden two cows came in front of his motorbike. Before he could understand anything or apply brakes, his motorcycle skidded off. Anuj still feels problem in walking comfortably.

There seems to be no end in sight to the stray cattle menace in the city as the animals can be seen roaming around on streets, disrupting traffic, leading to accidents and creating problem for residents as well as commuters. Not only stray cows but also bulls squatting right in the middle of the roads and streets have become a common sight in Dera Bassi.

Try to shoo them away and they take ages to move even an inch. It is enough to leave commuters moaning in despair. Though the number of bovines has shot up over the years, the authorities concerned have not taken any practical step to deal with the menace.

Though the Dera Bassi Municipal Council had launched a drive a few weeks ago to free the city from the stray cattle menace, which has attained alarming proportions, the drive halted midway.

Reason: The work of catching stray cattle was given to the Department of Animal Husbandry, Patiala, which had employed a team for the purpose. But now all of them have been called back to Patiala and the Dera Bassi Municipal Council has no staff of its own to catch these animals.

The situation is now getting serious due to the increasing number of cattle. Herds of cows can be easily spotted on various roads and inner parts of the city. The situation turns worse at night when it becomes difficult for motorists to spot the stray animals due to darkness.

The Dera Bassi-Mubarikpur stretch seems to be favourite spots where owners let loose their animals on roads to graze on the grassy sidewalks and medians, thus obstructing the flow of traffic. The situation is more or less the same in other parts of the city where stray cows and bulls rule the roads.

Bhupinder Saini, president, MC, Dera Bassi, said: “We have initiated the drive to curb the cattle menace, but the team employed by the Department of Animal Husbandry was called back. We will restart the project soon to put an end to the menace”.