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Cattle menace: Chandigarh MC looks to take bull by the horn with new shelter, hospital
The shelter, with a capacity to house 1,000 cattle, and the hospital being set up in Chandigarh are expected to be inaugurated by January and March 2023 respectively
Taking the bull by its horns, the city’s municipal corporation has finally come up with a concrete solution to free the city of stray cattle menace.
The civic body is planning to open a new cow shelter in Raipur Kalan village in a bid to accommodate stray cattle. At present, the area has four gaushalas — one in Sector 45, two in Industrial Area, and one at Maloya. The MC is in the process of upgrading all four which are currently in dilapidated condition.
The new gaushala, which will be ready by December end and is slated to be inaugurated on January 2 next year, will have capacity to accommodate 1,000 cows.
Besides this, a full-fledged veterinary hospital is also under construction at Raipur Kalan and is expected to be complete by March next year.
The issue of stray cattle menace has been brought up in most MC House meetings for the past one decade, but the civic body failed to come out with any concrete solution.
Speaking about the developments, municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “The issue of stray cattle menace will be resolved only after the new gaushala comes in Raipur Kalan. At present, the existing gaushalas are running at full capacity.”
“Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) are being set up in all the gaushalas to treat the liquid waste. As far as cow dung is concerned, which is a big issue, we have sought permission from the house to auction the cow dung. Also, we have ordered 10 briquette-making machines for making cow dung into briquettes. We have ordered three new cattle catching units with hydraulic systems whose delivery is awaited,” she added.
The worst affected areas by stray cattle menace are the southern sectors namely Sectors 38, 39, 42, and 52, where residents are at the receiving end of not only stray cattle but also people from nearby villages, who leave their domestic animals to roam freely in the areas.
Satish Kumar Khosla, chief patron of the federation of social welfare associations, Sectors 38, 39, and 40 said, “The stray cattle menace has become a major issue in our sectors as these sectors are located in the proximity to villages and colonies. People from nearby villages bring their cattle to our sectors and leave them to graze either during the early morning hours or overnight.”
