Shelters packed, stray cattle roam freely in Panchkula

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 27

For the past two months, it has been a free run for stray cattle in Panchkula as the drive of the Municipal Corporation against the menace has been halted with the existing four cow shelters packed to capacity.

The condition is so bad that in times of exigency, cattle are being forcibly pushed into the already overcrowded sheds in violation of the norms. “There is no place to accommodate cattle at the shelters. For the past two months, we have stopped our drive. However, in case of any major complaint, we do take action,” Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia told Chandigarh Tribune.

With the MC in deep slumber, cattle wandering on roads and in residential areas are a common sight and cause traffic congestion and accidents. “The stray cattle menace has led to several accidents, but the MC has failed to address the issue,” said Ramesh Singh, a resident of Sector 6.

Though the corporation had proposed to construct three cow shelters — one each at Kalka, Toka village (Barwala) and Pinjore (extension of the existing one) — to accommodate stray cattle, nothing has come out of it in the past eight months. The corporation has failed to get any response from NGOs, public welfare trusts or individuals in this connection. The Mayor, however, said work on cow shelters would start soon.

“We have land in Toka village and plan to give it to people interested in taking it on lease. They can open dairies and generate income for the corporation here. NGOs and individuals have shown interest in opening cow shelters there,” claimed the Mayor.

Earlier, the corporation was planning to open its own diaries there but the proposal failed to get the go-ahead 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, but the managers have now refused to accommodate these.

Menace claimed woman’s life

• A 72-year-old woman lost her life last year after she was attacked by a stray bull in Pinjore.
• Reports of road accidents and traffic problems due to stray cattle are common.