Woman killed by stray bulls in Panipat; MC fails to tackle problem

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, May 21

The menace of stray animals continues to haunt the residents here. They say the district authorities and the Municipal Corporation (MC) have failed to curb the menace of the strays in the city as they can be seen roaming freely on NH-44, posing a threat to the lives of commuters.

In a recent incident, Devi (33) of Virat Nagar was killed by two stray bulls near Assandh road police post on Thursday. She and her son Altaf were on their way home when the bulls attacked them. Altaf, with the help of commuters, rushed her to a private hospital, where the doctor on duty declared her brought dead.

This is not the first death in the city due to a stray animal.

Manpreet alias Manni (24) was killed in an accident on NH-44 near Sector 6 on August 3 last year, while 70-year-old Sheela of Ekta colony was also killed last year. A 19-year-old youth, Jagpreet of Vrinda Enclave, sustained serious injuries after a bull attacked him, following which he slipped into a coma. DC Virender Dahiya went to meet him at the hospital on April 18 and assured that the issue will be looked into soon, but nothing seems to have changed.

Jogender Swami, president, Jan Awaaj Society and former Zila Parishad member, held a protest at the MC office last month. He also tied a stray animal in front of the residence of a ruling party councillor of Ward 20 to protest against the lackadaisical attitude of the MC authorities.

Tender allotted

A tender has been allotted to an agency at the rate of Rs 640 per cattle for catching the stray animals from the city. As many as 400 animals have been sent to the Nain Gau Abhayaranya in the last 20 days. — Jitender Narwal, chief sanitary inspector, MC