Panipat MC to allot short-term tenders to catch stray animals

Tribune News Service

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, August 4

The menace of stray animals continues to haunt the residents of Panipat.

Residents say the Municipal Corporation (MC) has failed to curb the menace of the strays in the city as such animals can be seen roaming freely on NH-44, posing a threat to the lives of commuters.

Will be kept at gaushalas

A short-term tender will be allotted to catch the stray animals. After tagging the animals, these would be sent to the gaushala at Ajijullapur village, which is being run by a social worker. Avneet Kaur, Mayor

Gaushalas refused to take animals

We had been planning to control the menace, but all gaushalas were almost full. They refused to take animals. The MC has to make its own arrangement to keep these strays animals. — Yashender Singh, Commissioner, MC

Maintenance a costly affair

The MC is giving Rs 4 lakh per month for keeping animals at the ‘abhyarnya’ regularly. I have asked the Mayor, district admn and MC officials to send strays to the ‘abhyaranya’. Raj Singh Pannu, President, Gaushala Sangh

A day after the killing of a 24-year-old youth in a mishap after his motorcycle hit a stray animal on NH-44 here, the Mayor, some councillors, MC officials and the sanitation wing held a meeting over the issue and decided to initiate steps to curb the menace.

Manpreet, a resident of Purewal Colony in the Kachha Camp area, was killed near Sector 6 on NH-44 on Wednesday morning. As he reached near Sector 6, a stray bull suddenly came on the road and hit his motorcycle.

The collision was so strong that both Manpreet and the bull died. The incident is not the first in the district. Several deaths by strays have been reported in the past.

The menace of stray animals in the district has risen to alarming proportions.

Approximately, 3,000 abandoned animals roam on Panipat roads. Strays are also often seen sitting in the middle of the roads, leading to accidents. Herds of stray animals on highways and local roads are a common sight.

Raj Singh Pannu, president, Gaushala Sangh, said around 2,500 animals are at Gau Abhayaranya at Nain village at present.

“The MC is giving Rs 4 lakh per month for keeping animals at the ‘abhyarnya’ regularly. I have met the district administration, MC officials and Mayor. I have asked them to send the strays to the ‘abhyaranya’. We have no problem in keeping more animals there,” he said.

“The MC has not sent even a single animal to the ‘abhyaranya’ in past two months,” he added.

Mayor Avneet Kaur said a meeting had been held today on this issue.

“It was decided at the meeting that a short-term tender will be allotted to catch the stray animals. After tagging the animals, these would be sent to the gaushala at Ajijullapur village, which is being run by a social worker,” she added.

“The management of Gau Abhayaranya at Nain village has refused to take the animals and their demands were high. They wanted to construct sheds and pucca floors, but the MC does not have extra funds to give to the ‘abhyarnya’,” she added.

A meeting of the presidents of the gaushalas was scheduled for Friday, she added.

Yashender Singh, Commissioner, MC, said we had been planning to control the menace, but all gaushalas in the district were almost full. “They refused to take animals,” he added. “The MC has to make its own arrangement to keep these stray animals to resolve the problem,” the Commissioner added.

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