Vijayawada's desperation to manage cow traffic on roads: To serve notice to cattle owners

The VMC said repeat offenders would be fined Rs 5,000.
Vijayawada's desperation to manage cow traffic on roads: To serve notice to cattle owners
Vijayawada's desperation to manage cow traffic on roads: To serve notice to cattle owners
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In a bid to address cattle roaming the streets of Vijayawada, the city's municipal body will reportedly serve notices to the owners of these animals.

According to reports, this follows several complaints that the Vijayawada Municipal Commission (VMC) received, about cattle on the roads, which have led to traffic jams and become troublesome for motorists and pedestrians.

Stating that there were around 1,300 stray animals like cows, calves and buffaloes on the streets, The New Indian Express reported that a notice would be sent after the first violation, and a fine of Rs 5,000 would be slapped on repeat offenders.

"Despite instructing cattle owners to keep their animals safe, they are repeatedly letting them out on roads leading to traffic congestion at major junction across the city. Besides causing traffic jams, the poor animals are often involved in mishaps, injuring themselves as well as the motorists," VMC assistant veterinary surgeon A Sridhar told TNIE.

Meanwhile, other reports suggest that the VMC would hand over any unclaimed cattle seized from the streets, to organic farmers. The decision was taken after meetings with other senior officials in the city last month. 

“We thought of setting up a cattle shed for stray animals but that would cost the VMC money and man power. If the animals are given to farmers they will feed them and the dung and urine will be useful for their farms. If the owners want to take the them back they would have to pay the penalty that would be around Rs 5,000,” Sridhar told Deccan Chronicle.

Last year, similar complaints had also been coming in from Ongole, following which the Ongole Municipal Corporation (OMC) launched a special drive. 

As part of the plan, it was reported that the authorities took the help of the Traffic Police and caught several straying cattle every week, and released them in the forests close to Giddalur.

Earlier this month, the state government began the online registration of cattle, by issuing Aadhaar-like unique numbers under the Information Network on Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH).

The state said that it would now tag the cattle, and also planned to keep a central data bank with all the details collected.

There were also plans to link the online registry to the local veterinary hospital, which would help authorities monitor the animals individually with their personal profile.

This followed a proposal by the Central government in the Supreme Court, to start a unique identity system.

The Centre claimed that the identification numbers would help track cows and prevent inter-state and inter-country smuggling.
 

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