Stray cattle menace: Faridabad MC lifts 175 cows in 3 days

The Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) authorities have removed as many as 175 cattle heads from various roads in the past three days as part of a drive to fight the stray cattle menace which has reached alarming levels.

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According to sources, the number of stray cattle could be over 25,000, however, the authorities are yet to come out with official data. With various teams deputed for the job, the drive has led to removal of at least 175 cattle heads in the past 72 hours, said a civic body official. He said these stray cattle were sent to cow shelters (gaushalas) financed by the civic body or the state government. The issue posing a hurdle in this regard is that the present capacity of cow shelters is very low as compared to the requirement.

While the cumulative figure of stray cattle assessed by certain officials is reported to be around 10,000, the total capacity of the three cow shelters assisted by the civic body is around 4,000 only. All the cow shelters are already full, claim sources. The cumulative figure includes 4,000 cattle heads that are seen on the roads on a permanent basis, while 6,000 are those that return to the dairies or owners in the evening.

Though cow shelters have been developed by the panchayats at Nevada, Tigaon, Bhupani and Neemka villages with a tentative capacity of upto 2,000, they are lying unused due to mismanagement, it is revealed.

Ravi Dubey of the People for Animals Trust (PFA), an NGO engaged in the welfare of animals, said while the number of stray cattle was around 25,000, he said the main issue was the management of cow shelters and a well-defined strategy to run them. He said lack of a census, non-tagging of non-milching animals and poor infrastructure had led to a spurt in the menace over the years. Varun Sheokand, a resident who lodged a complaint with office of the CM, DGP Haryana Police, DGP Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Director, Urban Local Bodies (ULB), recently over the issue, said while hundreds of cows were left on the road by the dairies located on the byepass road, none of them had been penalised to date.

Om Dutt, Executive Engineer, MCF, said a drive had been launched as per the instructions of the state government. He said FIRs may be lodged against the cattle or dairy owners beside the penalty, if any lapse surfaces.