MC turns blind eye to stray cattle menace in P’kula

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 25

While a fight between two bulls claimed the life of a city resident, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation has turned a blind eye towards stray cattle menace in Panchkula.

The seriousness of the MC’s effort can be gauged from the fact that gaushalas and cow shelters in the district are packed to their capacity and the MC has not caught even a single stray cattle in the past three months.

MC officials are waiting for the construction of a gaushala at Sukhdarshapur village, but till then, there is no second action plan to tackle the menace. The MC has not even taken any action against violators. In October, it had issued notice to 83 violators, who were responsible for letting their cattle roam on roads, but till date no action has been initiated against erring dairy owners. The MC Commissioner had warned that action would be taken under Section 133, CrPC, against those showing lackadaisical approach towards the MC notice. A majority of these violators were from Rally village, Ramgarh, Saketri, Kalka and Pinjore falling under the MC limits. In 2016, MC officials had held a meeting with dairy owners and local village sarpanchs. They were warned that if any cattle was found loitering in streets, strict action would be taken and FIRs would also be registered.

In 2016, the MC was planning to open its own dairies there, but the proposal failed to get the nod during an MC meeting. Two cow shelters in Pinjore and Kalka have around 6,000 to 7,000 cattle, while the Panchkula cow shelter has around 3,000 cattle. Each year, around 500 cows are brought to these shelters. — TNS

No action against violators

The MC has not taken any action against violators. In October, the MC had issued notice to 83 violators, who were responsible for letting their cattle roam on roads, but till date, action has not been initiated against erring dairy owners.