Zirakpur MC turns blind eye to growing menace

Satinder Pal Singh

Dera Bassi, August 5

It is not just bad roads, inadequately lit thoroughfares or drink driving that is causing road accidents. Canines and cattle too have become a potential threat for motorists, especially in Zirakpur town.

There is no respite in sight for citizens from the stray cattle menace as the authorities concerned lack grit and determination to deal with the problem, which is compounding.

On May 25, a Shimla-based 23-year-old youth, Ravinder Verma, died and two others sustained injuries when their SUV hit the median in order to save stray cattle on the Zirakpur flyover.

This is not such first case. There might be several instances that go unreported where accidents are caused by stray cattle on the highway or on internal roads in the city. Even the police treat all these cases as road accidents and maintain no separate record.

Though the government sets the ball rolling for developing Zirakpur town as a smart city, stray cattle roaming freely on city roads are enough to play a spoilsport in letting it achieve the targeted status.

All plans devised by Municipal Councils in the past decades to check the menace proved futile and the presence of stray cattle on roads makes a mockery of the city’s cow ranch built at a cost of Rs 5 crore in May 2106.

According to sources, the issue of stray cattle had been discussed and deliberated upon in almost all House meetings of the MCs. Even after having moving several proposals on paper to deal with the menace, the civic authorities have not come out with any solution to this crucial issue of public interest.

Kulwinder Sohi, president, Municipal Council, Zirakpur, agreed that it is a big issue, which is posing a threat to residents. The civic body is doing its best to resolve the issue. He also appealed to the farmers to give up abandoning their cattle, else take them to the gaushala.

Mishaps due to stray cattle in Dera Bassi constituency

• July 27, 2018: A Saharanpur-based 30-year-old pillion rider was killed while another youth sustained injuries when their motorcycle collided with stray cattle which darted across the road suddenly here.
• June 13, 2018: Rakesh, a resident of Rampur Sanian, succumbed to his injuries after his bike collided with stray cattle on the Dera Bassi-Barwala road.
• May 25, 2018: A Shimla-based 23-year-old youth, Ravinder Verma, died and two others sustained injuries when their SUV hit the median in order to save stray cattle on the Zirakpur flyover.
• October 30, 2017: A woman in her mid-40s sustained injuries after she was struck by a bull in Zirakpur.
• October 21, 2017: Ved Prakash (72), a resident of Dera Bassi, succumbed to his injuries at Indus Hospital after he was hit by a bull while walking along the roadside.
• November 23, 2016: Rajat (20) and Sahil (21), both residents of ATS, Dera Bassi, sustained multiple fractures when their bike collided with a stray cattle on the Ambala-Chandigarh highway.