JOIN USCattle owners not cowed down by penalty
A large number of cattle in the City seem to be at peril, much to the chagrin of animal lovers. But the situation can be changed for the better if only owners of the cattle and residents, who throw garbage wantonly, are a little more concerned.
Leaving cattle astray attracts penalty from the Palike, but the rule is observed more in the breach.
Cattle, which block main roads and sit alongside road medians, are a hindrance to an already choked traffic. Many citizens feel that it is pertinent that those concerned make serious efforts so that the animals do not stray into key arteries, which can also protect them from speeding vehicles. Cows also consume hazardous items like plastic, thus endangering their lives (see box).
Priya Shastri, a commuter, found a lone cow on the Richmond Road flyover recently, petrified by the traffic and constant honking by motorists. “The animal was tied from the neck to its leg which made it even more difficult for it to move quickly to safety,” she said.
Although a BBMP official said animals were usually not found on flyovers as there is no food, water or shelter available there, it was quite strange to find a cow wandering on the Richmond Road flyover.
A pregnant cow, walking on a main road in Koramangala, was electrocuted after it came in contact with a live wire.
The carcass lay on the road till the next morning as the BBMP staff were not able to reach there on time with the animal-lifting vehicle.
Asked why he left the cow astray, Manjunath, the cattle owner, said, “Where should we go for grazing the animals? We just leave them untethered and they go out and eat whatever they want on the streets. We cannot afford to keep cows in the shelter and feed them,” he said.
1,800 cases booked
Though the Palike has booked over 1,800 cases against cattle owners and collected a penalty of Rs 1.22 lakh since April 2012, cattle are still found on the streets.
Among other measures, the Palike had proposed to increase the penalty amount from Rs 100 to Rs 600, provide licences to dairy farmers to keep track of them, create milk colonies outside the City along the lines of the Aarey Milk Colony in Mumbai and to have incinerators for easy disposal of carcasses of deceased cattle.
In November 2011, the BBMP health standing committee put forth the proposals before the Council meeting. In March 2012, the proposals were sent to the Urban Development Department for approval.
The Palike sent a reminder to the department about the proposal in September 2012, but there has been no response yet.
Food that’s poison
About five cows were found to have died of recurrent tympany, a condition developed when the animal suffers a bloated stomach due to blockage of the intestine. One of the reasons is consuming plastic bags along with food. Around six cows were found to have died due to traumatic reticulopericarditis, a condition which develops after they consumed sharp objects. The sharp objects travel from the mouth to the stomach and then pierce the heart, eventually causing death.
These details emerged after a postmortem was performed on these animals at the Government Veterinary Hospital. Dr M L Sathyanarayana, Head of the Pathology department, said that this year, the number of cattle, which died due to environmental causes, has increased.
“Since January, the department has performed postmortems on 45 cows, 11 of which had died after consuming plastic bags and sharp objects. We have found plastic bags in large quantity, besides needles, nails and wires inside the stomachs and intestines of the animals,” he said.