Stray cattle eats up road space in Tiruvallur town

CHENNAI: Cattle menace on the main road, highways and the interior streets is not a city-based problem alone. Tiruvallur residents cannot stop lamenting over roaming cattle in the Tiruvallur town area, as it causes difficulties for several hawkers, street vendors, pedestrians and commuters.

Several commuters accuse the municipality officials of turning a blind eye to the situation and want them to address the issue on a priority basis.

Wandering cattle has already caused many road accidents on JN Road near the government hospital. Due to the sweltering heat in the day, these animals rest in the Tiruvallur hospital bus stand. To prevent from being attacked by them, the public stand away from the bus stand.

A few days back, a man met with an accident because he was startled by the cattle. “I was on my way to visit a friend admitted in Tiruvallur GH. While nearing the LIC building, a cow suddenly crossed the road. I lost control of my bike and fell on the road. I got five stitches and a back-bone injury,” rues G Gnanavel.

On Theradi-Tiruvallur Street and Bazar Street, cows come to eat the vegetable wastes and other food wastes. When they roam on Bazaar Street, hawkers feed them vegetables and leaves. This practice often backfires, as the animals get used to being fed, and come back for more.

A banana leaf vendor rued, “These animals roaming on Kondamapuram Street eat fruits and leaves. A couple of weeks back, a cow ate some banana leaves that I had kept for sale,” recalls S Santhosh, a vendor.

Similarly, in other places, the animals eat garbage and drink sewage water that is harmful to them. “Near the Tiruvallur TNEB substation, a few cows eat the garbage and plastic wastes. The municipality has been trying to take steps against the cattle owners, but nothing seems to be working,” observes a grocery shop owner near the substation.

Though Tiruvallur municipality officials claim that they have taken steps to reduce the cattle menace on the streets of Tiruvallur town, they are often found roaming inside the Tiruvallur municipality office campus.

When contacted, an official of the Tiruvallur municipality said: “We caught 13 animals in town, and sent them to the goshala (cow shelter) a couple of weeks back, and owners were penalised with fines. We’ve been taking steps to reduce the cattle menace. But owners have to take care of their cattle; otherwise, the municipality will take severe action against them.”