Cattle menace inside Koyambedu market irks traders

CHENNAI: Cattle straying into the Koyambedu Wholesale Market have been a bane for traders in there. They eat fresh vegetables and fruits stocked in the shops, and cattle owners do not hold back them.

Though multiple complaints have been raised to the concerned officers, no steps have been taken to prevent this.

“Over 200 cows and goats roam inside the premises, especially during the peak hours. They cause roadblocks inside the market, and this severely impacts our businesses, as it inconveniences customers. Though we try to chase them, they attack traders and sometimes even customers too,” lamented R Muthukumar, a semi-wholesale trader at Koyambedu market.

Traders stated that before the place was allocated for the market, it was a cattle shelter. Cattle owners do not tie their animals to keep them in place, and instead allow them to roam inside the market.

But during a recent visit of HR&CE Minister PK Sekarbabu to the market, not a single animal was spotted on the premises for almost 5-6 hours.

“If officials can control them for a day, why can’t it be tied up in a place every day? We’re tired of filing complaints to the market management committee, but no response has been taken. It’s not like we’re scoring big in terms of sales. Only during festivals, there’s brisk sale. Other days are quite dull,” fumed T Babu, a retailer at the market.

Since these animals eat vegetables and fruits stocked in the shops, it leads to a lot of waste.

“Vegetables bitten by animals cannot be sold. This is one of the big reasons for the huge loss we’ve been incurring,” he added.

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) seized cattle that roam on the roads. They’re caught with the help of veterinary doctors and sent to the shed in Pudupet and Perambur. When contacted, zonal officials of Kodambakkam said, “The market is regulated under the CMDA. Officials there should take steps to control the cattle menace. Also, we’ve issued notice about it.”

The Market Management Committee did not respond to calls by DT Next despite multiple attempts.