MADURAI: Following the recent incident of stray cattle attacking a girl child, the Madurai corporation has intensified its efforts to seize the cattle roaming on city roads. In the last week alone, 32 cattle were seized and a total of over Rs 50,000 has been imposed as penalty on cattle owners who let their animals roam on the roads.
City corporation commissioner K J Praveen Kumar instructed the staff to intensify the drive to seize stray cattle in all five zones of the city last week. This menace was also one of the issues most prominently raised by councillors during the past couple of monthly city council meetings. Apart from attacking pedestrians, there were also several incidents of stray cattle obstructing road traffic and leading to accidents.
The corporation is currently collecting Rs 1,000 as fine from persons who let their cattle roam on roads. Official sources said they are planning to increase the penalty amount collected from repeat offenders. Complaints on this matter are most often received from Goripalayam, Munichalai, K K Nagar, and Mattuthavani market areas. Councillors have suggested that the corporation should increase the number of 'cattle-catching' vehicles. As of now, the corporation has only three such vehicles catering to all five zones.