Hyderabad: Drive on to make city roads stray cattle-free

Adarsh Nagar : The GHMC has stepped up operations to rescue stray cattle which are roaming on roads. With the help of NGOs, efforts are afoot to seize and rehabilitate the animals which cause traffic obstructions, sometimes even accidents.

The cattle catching units of GHMC claim they are keeping a watch on the stray population. The owners of the animals are being slapped with fines. The stray animals which are shifted to GHMC-run shelters are later sent to rehabilitation centres if the owners fail to turn up to claim them. GHMC is also involving a few NGOs have in rescuing the injured cattle.

Speaking to The Hans India, the Chief Veterinary Officer GHMC, Dr Abdul Wakil, said that for every zone there is one 'Street cattle vehicle' and whenever they receive a complaint from the people their team would visit the spot.

They are moved to the animal welfare centres of GHMC and they are regularly fed and taken care of. "If any person comes forward to adopt them we will give them for adoption and the unclaimed ones will be sent to the nearest Goshalas," he said.

Dr Wakil added that veterinary doctors monitor the health of cattle and properly treat the injured. "Our teams will go there and bring the cow to the animal centre and veterinary doctor will treat them and put them under observation. For this, a toll-free number 21111111 has been set up," he added.

Last year, the veterinary officers seized 249 street cattle and imposed fine to the owners worth Rs 10,91,000. The veterinary officers even warned the owners to keep in check their cattle and to ensure that they do not come on road.