CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has fixed December 19 as the date to take stock of the functioning of Satichaura kine house being managed by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to tackle the stray cattle menace in the city.
The special bench dealing with civic issues in Cuttack city set the next date after taking on record a report submitted by CMC counsel and a vernacular newspaper report during its sitting on December 5.
The CMC counsel Debashis Nayak submitted a report that an assistant commissioner is in charge of cattle seizure section. While two tractors and two Bolero jeeps along with 30 personnel have been deployed for stray cattle seizure, a logbook is maintained for the purpose and the impounded animals are kept in the kine house at Satichaura, the report claimed.
The media report alleged the stray cattle menace is increasing across the city and making lives of people miserable. The CMC has failed to address the issue and acted in a lackadaisical manner.
The division bench of Justices S K Sahoo and V Narasingh ordered, “Let the copy of the logbook be produced on the next date for verification. The counsel for the CMC shall apprise this court as to whether there is any provision for giving compensation by the Corporation to the owners of the vehicles which are damaged by the stray cattle.”
Meanwhile, CMC in its affidavit stated the seized cattle are kept in the kine house for seven days and released to the owners with proper identification after collecting fine along with feeding charges.