Workers impounding a stray cattle from Tiruverumbur in Tiruchi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Following frequent accidents caused by cattle roaming the national highways, the Tiruchi City Corporation has intensified its efforts to impound the animals.
On Friday, a severely injured calf was rescued by the Corporation workers on the Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway near Senthaneerpuram and was treated at the animal clinic. It is said that the animal was rammed by a vehicle on the highway.
To avert such accidents, the civic body has stepped up efforts to impound the wandering cattle from Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway near K.K. Nagar, Edamalaipatti Pudur, and Crawford, Tiruchi-Dindigul National Highway near Pirattiyur, Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway near Mannarpuram and Senthaneerpuram, and Tiruchi-Pudukottai National Highway near Airport.
The owners often leave their cattle to graze on the medians and these animals wander on to the road, hindering the free flow of vehicular traffic and posing a threat to road users. “The stray cattle often tend to travel on the water channel routes, which are near the highways. The owners should resort from letting out the cattle to wander on the roads, especially near highways,” said M. Vijay Chandran, City Health Officer.
Three private agencies had been engaged to seize the animals during the day and night. The civic body rounded up 568 cattle and has collected ₹18.63 lakh by penalising the owners and auctioning the stray cattle between November 2022 and December 2024.
On Tuesday, about 15 stray cattle were auctioned for ₹73,000 after no one came to claim them. This is the fourth time the impounded cattle had been auctioned. So far, around 51 cattle have been auctioned for ₹3.45 lakh.
The civic body planned to fix a penalty of ₹20,000 for repeat offenders and a fine of ₹300 a day as an additional charge for fodder. At present, cattle owners are being fined ₹5,000 for cows and horses and ₹2,500 for calf.
Officials said that if the animals were not taken back by the owners within 15 days, they would be auctioned and stringent action taken against the owners.
To avoid any injury to stray horses, as it may turn wild, the officials planned to sedate the animal before rounding them up. “We would seek the support of the Forest Department to sedate the horse using a dart gun while impounding it,” he said.
The civic body is planning to constitute a committee for the protection of impounded cattle with the support of city police, Animal Husbandry department and NGOs involved in animal welfare.
Published – December 21, 2024 06:48 pm IST