The Hindu 09.12.2013
“End stray cattle menace”
As stray cattle poses hardships to road-users, there are
lots of expectations from the Corporation authorities to regulate them
and prevent accidents.
Even as most of the roads
here, particularly the interior ones, are dangerous to road-users
because of potholes and encroachments, stray cattle have made the roads
unsafe for all users.
Corporation officials received appeals from the locals to control the cattle.
Subsequently,
Commissioner T. Mohan warned through a statement that the stray cattle
would be impounded and the attached animals could be freed only after
the owners paid the fine.
However, no visible action
has been taken so far against the animals, particularly the bovine
species that freely move around on almost all busy roads in Tirunelveli
and Palayamkottai.
Even after two bulls were fatally
knocked down by a speeding unidentified vehicle in front of INS
Kattabomman Receiving Station on the Tirunelveli-Nagercoil Highway
recently no action has been taken. The carcasses triggered a few
accidents involving bikes as they remained on the road for nearly four
hours since early morning.
After drizzle started with
the onset of monsoon in October, the cattle, unable to lie on moist
ground, have shifted their base to dry and relatively warm roads,
especially during the night to take rest. Even during the day, the stray
cattle, undeterred by the speeding vehicles, either stand on the middle
of the road or take rest on the thoroughfares causing accidents.
Admitting
that no action has been taken to impound the stray cattle, a senior
Corporation official said that no fund had been allotted for buying
fodder to feed the stray cattle after impounding them. “Since the owners
may take their own to time to rescue their animals after paying the
fine, we should be ready to feed the animals as long as they are under
our custody. Once the funds and the personnel to catch the stray cattle
are available, our operation against the cattle wandering along the
roads will begin,” he said.