Rs 5 crore stray cattle home near Palampur not functional

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, April 17

A cattle home sanctuary constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore in 50 acres near Palampur two years ago is yet to be made operational because of official bottlenecks and red tape. The Animal Husbandry Department which is the custodian of cow sanctuary has not initiated steps to make animal home operational.

The menace of stray animals, in the meantime, continues to hassle residents of Palampur and its adjoining areas. Herds of stray animals on highways as well as city roads are a common sight, posing a threat to commuters.

Commuters say it is difficult to travel on the Pathankot-Mandi and the Palampur- Dharamsala highways. “Motorists often drive at a high speed on these highways and have to abruptly apply brakes when stray animals come in front of their vehicles, leading to accidents,” says a commuter.

Recently two bikers lost their lives near Paror when their bike hit a bull standing on the highway as the animal was not visible at night. Other such incidents have happened where light and heavy vehicles meet with accidents because of stray animals roaming on the roads.

However, the orders of the High Court regarding the setting up of cattle sheds have not been followed. The situation in Nagri, Gopalpur, Paror, Maranda, Kalu Di hatti, Ghuggar, Lohana and Aima villages is even worse. In Palampur town herd of stray cattle gather near the Kalibari Temple, Plaza market and the SSB Chowk.

The state government is collecting Re 1 per bottle from liquor contractors to set up sheds for stray cattle. Funds are transferred and are at the disposal of DCs but hardly anything has been done in this regard. Various voluntary organisations have urged Kangra DC Hemraj Bairwa for initiating steps to make cow sanctuary operation at Nagri which would helpful to keep the stray animal menace in check. They told the DC that the MC and the Animal Husbandry Department have reportedly failed to curb the stray animal menace due to the lack of resources and funds for the purpose.

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