Stray animals pose serious threat to lives of passers-by

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 19

The stray cattle have been posing a serious threat to residents in almost every part of the city. The Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar (MCJ) has miserably failed to curb the problem, as animals can be seen roaming on the roads, causing traffic snarls and mishaps. Sometimes the cattle appear all of a sudden on roads, jeopardising the lives of commuters, especially bikers.

In the past few weeks, many people have been injured due to accidents involving stray cattle. The root cause of the problem is unplanned dairies, in and around the city. The owners, after milking cattle, let them loose so that they can graze outside. Even non-milch cattle are also let loose.

The situation has become so worst that parents now do not allow their children to play on roads outside their houses due to this menace. The incidents of stray cattle attacking and injuring people on the roads is not unheard of in city.

“People get injured in road mishaps and also suffer damages to their property due to the stray cattle menace. The authorities concerned are doing nothing to come up with a solution to the problem”, said Kamaljeet Kaur, a housewife.

Another resident Hardik Kumar said, “Despite an alarming rise in the number of road accidents due to the presence of stray cattle in the city, the authorities have failed to check the issue and have been keeping mum on the issue. With no solution in sight to manage the rising number of stray cattle on the roads, residents fear meeting fatal accidents on roads.”

MCJ Health Officer Dr Kishan Sharma said, “Corporation is aware of the sudden increase in the number of cattle on roads and concern of residents towards the issue. Concerted efforts were being made to curb the problem. Gaushalas are looking after the issue and they have deployed employees to catch stray cattle. We are liable to pay diet money to the gaushalas”.

“It is a big issue for residents. We have also discussed it with the Deputy Commissioner. We are doing our best to resolve the issue. Policies are being framed and financial assistance has been sought from the state government for the constructions of cowsheds,” he added.

He also said, “The sudden increase is due to some cow owners from nearby villages leaving their cattle on roads in search of food. We have deployed our persons to check such practices.”