TIRUCHY: The ongoing drive by the Tiruchy city corporation against stray cattle menace under the current council has so far seized a total of 418 such bovines and has yielded about Rs 14.55 lakh in fines from their owners as well as through the auctioning of the animals.
According to the corporation, since the commencement of the drive in November 2022, about Rs 11.83 lakh has been collected in fines for allowing 382 head of cattle astray in the city streets. The remaining Rs 2.72 lakh has been collected by auctioning off 36 such head of cattle.
On the drive, a senior corporation official said, “Our team in each zone randomly picks an area for inspection, and it would also be done on the basis of information from residents. Our sanitation workers also alert the seizure team of the respective zone if they notice cattle let astray in an area. We will continue the strategy and regularly conduct assessments."
Mentioning officials having discovered some owners letting their cattle astray in the market and interior areas during the night hours during such an assessment, another senior official said, “As it would create safety issues for motorists and others, we formed a team to undertake seizure drives during the wee hours. In two weeks, the night team caught about 10 such head of cattle from Gandhi Market. Therefore, the regular assessment will continue.”
Meanwhile, MR Rajasekhar, a resident of Thillai Nagar, said, "I think it is time the corporation made public announcements on the legal action that would be taken on those letting cattle astray in the city."