Cattle on campus: IIT-B designs tracking system to curb mishaps

In July, a student was attacked by two bulls; cow wandered into classroom

Students of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) are designing a tracking system to identify spots visited by cattle in Powai campus. The campus has seen incidents of cattle entering classrooms and worse, attacking students.

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“The IIT-B campus is built in a way that it coexists with other natural habitants of the place. Our solutions are keeping in mind staff and students primarily, as well as the cattle,” said a spokesperson for the institute.

He said the cattle tracking system is in the process of being designed.

“In the meantime, we have also called for help from NGOs and animal experts to find out the best possible solution to this problem,” said the spokesperson. The institute has already built one gaushala for stray cattle and there are plans to build another one, if the need arises.

Earlier this year, in July, two stray bulls charged towards a student and trampled him. The student had to be admitted to a hospital and treated for abdominal injuries. In the same month, a cow wandered into a classroom. Following this, the institute had placed security guards outside the academic buildings to shoo away cattle. “This process worked as we have successfully managed to keep stray cattle away from the academic buildings for some time now. Residential buildings are still facing some problem, but we are working on finding a permanent solution which not only helps students but also ensures that the animals have a safe place in natural surroundings,” said the spokesperson.

IIT-B officials have also put together a special committee to look developing a safer environment for students as well as other natural habitants of the campus.