Stray cattle pose threat to motorists in Berhampur

Berhampur: Amid severe traffic woes gripping the city, movement of stray cattle on the busy roads has not only compounded the problem but become a serious threat to commuters and motorists.

Thousands of stray cattle which roam the arterial roads of the city unmindful apart from causing delay also pose hindrance in smooth vehicular movement.

A local resident Surya Parida said, "Commercial cattle owners don't have sheds to keep the herds at a time and after milking them, they leave the cattle unattended, many of which scatter hither and thither on the roads causing accidents.

"Many times the animals move in front of vehicles leading to traffic congestion and delay in travel for commuters. This has been a longstanding issue in Berhampur that needs to be addressed soon" said another local Kunal Sahu.

It may be noted that the issue of cattle menace has been raised during several BeMC meetings but no concrete steps have been taken to curtail the problem.

However, responding to the matter, BeMC Commissioner Chakrabarty Singh Rathore said, "The BeMC has allocated funds to construct Kanjia Huda on the outskirts of the city. Nearly 8000 cattle will be tagged in phased manner and those cattle whose ownership is not recognised will be shifted to the Kanjia Huda. After all this, if cattle are again spotted loitering on the roads, the tags will be matched with ownership records and fines would be imposed on the concerned owners.”