Stray cattle being shifted, but at a snail’s pace

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 16

Even though the MC has collected nearly Rs1.5 crore of cow cess in the past one year, the process to shift stray cattle to cow shelters is going on at a snail’s pace.

A large number of stray cattle are seen wandering on city roads, causing obstructions in the smooth flow of traffic, inviting mishaps. To avert any mishap during foggy days, roads safety activists have asked the civic body to ensure shifting of all stray cattle from roads.

The civic body had proposed to purchase a special vehicle to lift stray cattle, but it is yet to be purchased. According to the sources, tenders to purchase the vehicle were floated multiple times, but remained unsuccessful. “In Punjab, 5-7 per cent road mishaps are caused due to stray cattle wandering on roads as the authorities concerned have failed to shift these to the right place. Besides, they cause traffic congestion. If the MC is charging cow cess, it should create cattle sheds or shift these to gaushalas,” said Kamaljit Soi, member of the National Road Safety Council.

He asked the MCto take concrete steps to shift stray cattle to safer places to avoid mishaps. Satish Thaman, a member of the Ludhiana West Grievances Redressal Committee said: “I have written to the authorities several times, but to no avail. The cattle are left on roads when these are of no use. It is the responsibility of the civic body to take required steps to shift the cattle to shelters.”

MC’s veterinary officer Dr YP Singh said: “We are able to shift only 10-12 stray cattle to Govind Gau Dham in a day. To speed up our process, we have decided to purchase a new vehicle to lift these stray cattle from various areas. It is also difficult to lift stray cattle from national highways as these remain very busy during the day. When we try to catch these from highways, they start running and can cause mishaps.”

“There are nearly 1,200 stray cattle in the city, while our efforts are on to shift them to safer places. The MC has collected Rs1.5 crore cow cess and it is being spent on their welfare,” he said.