CHENNAI: Two buffaloes were killed and four others injured after an MRTS train ran over the straying cattle on the elevated stretch between Park and Chepauk stations early on Friday morning.
The straying cattle had apparently travelled an over 15-km distance on the service pathway overnight before being hit by the first train around 5:30 am, bringing to light the inefficiency of the city Corporation in preventing cattle from straying onto public places and posing a threat to themselves and the public.
Dawn Williams, general manager of Blue Cross, who was involved in the rescue operation, claimed that the ‘heifer’ - cattle raised for consumption - would have got onto the elevated stretch at the Velachery station itself, the MRTS endpoint where it descends and not at the Park station which is three km away, as MRTS officials claim.
“It is not uncommon for cattle to travel long distances,” he said. Blue Cross volunteers provided first aid to buffaloes but had to wait to transport the cows to a facility, with all trains plying as usual.
“When we arrived, the two dead buffaloes had been removed from the tracks and the injured buffaloes were wincing in pain. We were not able to use specially designed ‘cow sleds’ on the service pathway beside the track because it is broken in many places. So we just gave them painkiller injections” said Dawn Williams, who was personally attending to the cows.
While straying cattle is a common sight on city roads, this incident, happening on an elevated stretch barred from any pedestrian access (no food incentives for straying) has thrown light on the magnitude of the issue.
“We usually get cattle rescue calls on the Southern Railway lines but this is a very peculiar incident,” a Blue Cross volunteer told Express, highlighting the complacency of the government officials in providing alternative rescue measure such as a boom crane or trolleys.
“We don’t have the equipment to provide rescue measures for heavy animals,” said a railway official.
A FIR has been registered by the Railway Protection Force
While the elevated stretch doesn’t come under the purview of the Corporation whose officials were a no-show during rescue ops, the incident brings to light the insufficiency of their efforts to prevent cattle from straying onto public spaces.
Corporation officials said that around 700 straying cattle were caught and taken to the two cattle shelters in Perambur and Pudhupettai every year.
Fines from April
The Corporation announced an increase in fines imposed on owners of straying cattle from Rs 1550 to Rs 10,750 on January 2. However, an official at the Corporation said the increase in fines would come into effect only from April