Mishap-prone: Foggy days ahead but Ludhiana MC yet to start radium tagging of bovines

Failing to deal with stray cattle menace despite recovering over ₹29 crore as cow cess in the past, the municipal corporation (MC) has failed to commence the project of tying reflective radium belts around the necks of stray cattle.

With a large number of stray cattle posing grave danger to the lives of residents, the project was mooted long back. The civic body had initiated a trial in April this year. MC has not initiated the project at ground level yet even as the city is likely witness foggy days soon which will disrupt the visibility of the commuters.

Hundreds of stray cattle roam around in different parts of the city including the residential areas, putting commuters’ lives at risk. The animals can be seen in large numbers at Hambran Road, Tajpur Road, Jalandhar Bypass, Rahon Road, and Jamalpur, among other areas.

Sunny, a resident of Haibowal, said, “A large number of cattle roam at Hambran Road as the dairy farmers at Haibowal dairy complex leave the dry cows to stray. The black-coloured animals are not even visible during night hours as most of the street lights also remain defunct. The civic body should find a solution and should at least tie reflective belts around the animals as roads accidents may prove to be fatal for the commuters.”

Rahul Verma, a member of the road safety council, who is associated with the civic body and has been participating in the meetings, also slammed the officials for only being restricted to their offices.

Verma stated that no department, including MC and PWD, is serious about road safety. The officials show concern over the issue only during the meetings and don’t take any steps at ground level. Repeated reminders/complaints have been sent to the MC, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, MC senior veterinary officer (SVO), Dr Harbans Dhalla, stated that MC has already purchased 500 reflective belts, and the project will be initiated in a few days. Apart from deploying its staff, MC will also rope in NGOs and staff of different gaushalas for tying the belts around the animals.

₹7.8 crore spent

Even after collecting over ₹29 crore as cow cess since January 2017 and spending over ₹7.8 crore out of the same, the civic body has failed to bring respite from the menace.

The officials rue shortage of space to shelter the stray animals due to which arrangements are being made with managements of different gaushalas in exchange for a certain fee.

Dr Dhalla said that recently MC established a shed in Burj Powat village for sheltering 150 animals. Around 1,500 animals have already been sheltered in different gaushalas across the district, he added.

Past incidents

February 10, 2020: A Haryana-based banker died in a road mishap near Hardy’s World on NH-44 as his car overturned after hitting a road divider in a bid to save stray cattle.

September 28, 2019: Two men were severely injured after the car in which they were travelling hit a stray cow at Jeevan Nagar of Focal Point.

March 24, 2019: A labourer, Akashdeep Singh, 20, of Umedpur village met with a road mishap after his motorcycle collided with a stray cow in Nandpur village. Akashdeep had sustained multiple injuries.

March 24, 2019: A 32-year-old man Hardeep Singh had died when his motorcycle collided with stray cattle in the Koomkalan area.

July 2018: Sanjiv Kumar, 55, of Dayal Nagar of Ludhiana and his son Lakshya, 17, died after they met with an accident in a bid to avoid a collision with stray cattle near Doraha.