Cattle menace

The rising number of stray animals has become a matter of great concern, says P.S. Chauhan

Along with water logging, poor sanitation and traffic jams, the large number of stray animals adds to the woes of the denizens of Haridwar. These stray animals are a common sight at Haridwar, Rishikesh and Roorkee. Besides cows, bulls and buffaloes, the number of wandering pigs and dogs has recently increased. Haridwar is one of the few municipalities where there is a ban on piggeries and raising the pigs. "Only some areas of Jwalapur and Kankhal in the city are exempted from the ban and even in these areas pigs must be kept in enclosures or sty and cannot be left free to wander in the streets," says Sanjay Sharma, the leader of the opposition in the city municipal board. However, pigs can be seen all over the city, specially at Satighat, Rajghat, Tibri, BHEL road, Bengali road, Jwalapur market, Ambedkar nagar and Paondhoi. The health officer of the municipal board, Dr. Diwakar Mishra admits that the wandering pigs are a cause of unsanitary conditions and diseases. "A few years ago, we launched a drive to cage these stray pigs, but it was opposed by their owners. Now very soon we are going to launch another drive to tame them," asserts Dr. Mishra.

These stray bovines and swine create sanitation problems in most parts of the city. The droppings of the stray animals can be seen littered the streets everywhere. They are a great source of unhygienic conditions. Besides this, these stray animals also obstruct smooth traffic flow. "These wandering cattle, which rule the roads, are a prime cause of traffic snarls," says Anurag Gupta, a computer operator of Ranipur Crossing. The traffic police officials also admit that they face difficulties in managing traffic due to wandering cattle. Specially during peak hours these stray animals can be seen sitting on the main roads, choking traffic. These cattle some times cause accidents too. Rajesh Sharma of Kankhal recalls how last month when he was riding to his residence a pig suddenly came running and collided with his motorbike. "My leg was fractured in the accident," says Rajesh Sharma. Sachin of Ramnagar colony says that last week when he was going from his office to his residence in the evening, a stray dog collided with his motorbike. "Both of my legs were fractured and I am still lying in bed," rues Sachin. Pradeep Kumar of Mohalla Kaddach was more lucky, as he avoided an accident. "I was going back home in my car a few weeks ago, when two bulls, fighting with each other, suddenly came on the road. I applied the brakes. Somehow, I just saved myself", says Pradeep, heaving a sigh of relief.

The lackadaisical attitude of the municipal board towards this problem is aggravating the menace. Though the municipal laws ban the free wandering of these stray animals in the streets, the municipal board has clearly failed to implement these laws. There is a Kanji house at Tibri to lock up stray animals and also a carriage to ferry these animals. But the carriage is used for other purposes and the Kanji house also remains unused. It is also surprising that in the holy city, where people, specially those belonging to the sant community, talk so glibly about the importance of the cow which is regarded as mother in our culture, there is no gaushala (shelter for cows) to provide shelter to old and the sick cows. "The people are also to be blamed. They keep only the milking cows and when these cows become useless, these are left in the streets to fend for themselves," says Karuna Sharma, a member of the municipal board from Jwalapur. B.L. Arya, the executive officer of Haridwar municipal board admits that the stray animals are a big problem. "We are considering some steps to rid the city of this problem," says Arya. But nobody knows when the administration will wake up to tackle this big nuisance.