Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite strict regulations imposed by the municipal corporation on movement of cattle in Sant Hirdaram Nagar area of Bhopal, cows, bulls, bullocks and buffaloes are seen freely roaming the streets posing a threat to motorists as well as pedestrians.
Apart from traffic density, stray cattle menace in the city is really a major concern. In the past, the authorities have undertaken several drives to round up these animals and move them to cow shelters. However, the results have been less than satisfactory.
Cattle such as cows and buffaloes are often spotted sitting in the middle of the main road there, which has led to as many as 167 accidents in the past six months in Bhopal. Deaths have occurred in a total of 74 such cases.
In some cases, the cattle even grow ferocious due to honking and engine sounds, and end up banging the vehicles of the commuters, which causes more accidents too. Residents of the locality claim that they have written to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials numerous times, in light of the issue, but the situation remains unresolved. It is noteworthy that huge traffic density often leads to bumper-to-bumper crawls on the Sant Hirdaram Nagar road, and people even park their vehicles on the roadside in a haphazard manner. All of this has already given rise to numerous traffic woes. On days when a smooth commute is feasible on the road, cattle lurking or sitting in the middle of the road impede the traffic, and cause accidents in many cases too.
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The cattle menace on the road is further exacerbated, when several residents over there feed the cattle in the middle of the roads itself, which causes dirt. Apart from cows and buffaloes, the area is also reeling under the terror of dogs, who often chase two-wheeler commuters. The two-wheeler riders often slip off the vehicle or ram into another vehicle in a bid to escape dog chase.
Councillor of Ward 4, Bharti Khatwani had written a letter to the BMC Commissioner Nobel Frank, asking him to redress the issue. When the Free Press brought the issue to the cognizance of the BMC Commissioner, he said that recently, some cattle have been lifted from the area and have been transferred to the cowsheds.
