They occupy road space in Mohali also

Ishrat Banwait

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 13

Stray cattle continue to pose threat to motorists in Mohali, especially on the Airport road.

Starting from the entry to Mohali from the Tribune roundabout, cattle can be seen all over the roads, especially at night.

Last week, there was a carcass of a cow on the road, which was possibly hit by a four-wheeler.

One potentially dangerous road is the one that turns in from the Airport road into the dividing road of Sector 66 and Phase XI. As one turns in, there is a garbage collection centre on the Sector 66 side. A large number of stray cattle are present on the road outside it, especially at night. Most of the time, the road is blocked and traffic remains affected.

Garbage collection centres have thus added to the problem as they have become night shelters for stray animals. There are 22 such garbage collection centres in the city. There are currently no cattle catchers in Mohali.

Municipal Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Dhiman said: “We are in the process of employing a new contactor for to catch stray cattle”.

Gaushala offers free service to the MC for the same, but it is full to its capacity.

The problem during the day is that cattle from nearby villages of Mohali are brought for grazing to the city. In the past, there have been incidents where MC employees who came to catch cattle were manhandled by the owners.

The MC will have to come up with a more practical and a long-term solution to the problem.