CHENNAI: The holy cow has been at the centre of politics for the last few years. But they face an unholy reality on Chennai’s roads where they thread their way across traffic signals and sometimes even perch themselves in the middle of the road, causing traffic woes.
From February to April, the Public Health Department of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) collected a fine of nearly `10.6 lakh for 129 stray animals. “While the fine for 61 stray animals has been levied in February, the penalty for 34 animals each was collected in March and April. If nobody claims ownership for the stray cattle within three days, it is sent to Blue Cross NGO,” said the concerned Corporation official.
Stray cattle walking on the interior roads are a major issue because riders, who do not wear helmets in the suburbs stand the risk of being hit and suffer head injuries. “Road accidents and traffic jams are the primary problems caused by stray cattle. Those who maintain the gaushalas and farms inside the city often leave their cows to roam on the roads.
That is when the problem begins. In a bid to avoid a stray animal on the road, drivers often take sudden turns and collide with the vehicles coming in the opposite direction. There have been many such fatal accidents in the past,” said K Rajarathinam, a resident of Pallavaram.
Concurring, R Sivaramakrishnan, a resident of T Nagar said the issue of stray menace has been prevalent in the area for over a year now. But, despite filing several complaints about the issue with the GCC, the pleas have gone unheard. “Gandhi Street and other areas in the vicinity have become a total mess because of the cows. First, it was dogs and now it is cows.
The ban on cow slaughter has restricted the sale of cows for meat trade. The abandoned cows ingest waste from publc bins. This does no good to the cause of cow protection,” he says. Similar complaints were made by the residents and commuters at Adyar, Nanganallur, Adambakkam, Avadi, Nungambakkam, and Ashok Nagar.
While the Corporation is responsible for clearing the cattle on the roads, it is the residents who are responsible for the increasing number of cows, warn a few activists. “It usually starts with one starved calf mooing outside your home. Soon after you start feeding it, you notice many other cows with no food or water source in your street, area and the suburbs. There must be some sort of ban on feeding stray animals. They should be sent to a concerned NGO instead. We are tying the noose around our own neck,” says PS Kalpana from K K Nagar.
Corporation officials say they have warned the cattle owners. “We have been receiving complaints on cattle menace and we are addressing all of them, promptly. More measures will be taken to control the menace,” says the official.