RAIPUR: There is no apparent respite from road accidents and consequent fatalities caused by stray cattle wandering onto traffic routes, main roads and state highways in Chhattisgarh.
Over the past two-year-and-a-halfs, there have been 308 accidents, 231 casualties and 64 injuries across the state. The number of deaths (231) remains far higher than the casualties of civilians at 115 owing to Maoists’ violence in the conflict-ridden region of Bastar since January 2022.
State authorities have been told to paint the cattle horns to prevent road accidents on the main routes of the capital. The move is expected to be a valuable step in alerting drivers on the roads. Stray cattle have become a recurrent cause of road accidents, particularly during the night when spotting them becomes difficult at times.
Panchayat and Rural Development Department Secretary Niharika Barik has asked the departments concerned and officials to take effective steps to prevent road accidents on main roads and state highways.
The animal husbandry department has been instructed to colour the horns of cattle lying on the roads. The paint should be of good quality so as to alert the driver of vehicles to spot the cattle on the route during the night hours from a distance. She also directed to get collar belts tied to the stray cattle besides creating awareness in the outskirts and villages to remove cattle from the roads.
Some of the other measures to be undertaken included organising chaupals in villages for disseminating information and creating platforms for the cattle to rest.
Officials in the traffic department said that people die when they try to save cattle on the road and the animals abruptly emerging or roaming around poses greater risks. The cattle at times crowd the main roads.
Road accident deaths as a whole have gone up in Chhattisgarh. The road accidents in the state have risen by 7.36 percent and casualties by 8.62 percent in 2022 compared to 2021.
“To prevent mishaps, the best tools are the road safety rules and its awareness,” said Sanjay Sharma, AIG (Traffic).