New
Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Pushing, prodding and chasing
stray cattle, scores of people, some astride
scooters and motorbikes, turned some Delhi streets
into virtual battlegrounds - landing the civic
authorities in a comic mess.
The chaos started Friday, a day after a court
order asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)
to pay Rs.2,000 out of the salaries of their
veterinary officers for each stray cow brought in
to the cattle pound.
The scene at the cattle pound of New Savitri Nagar
in south Delhi is worsening with angry people
demanding their money, which MCD had no means of
shelling out immediately.
They were finally given vouchers, but only if they
showed an identity proof.
Although residents insisted that dozens of cows
were brought during Friday from all over the city,
one MCD official insisted that only one bull and
three cows were the day's catch.
Many people turned up on Saturday as well.
Telephone authorities complained of being flooded
with calls asking for the phone number of the
pound.
"People do not understand. We have to create
a post for monitoring the drive and we have to
create a special fund to pay people," said
the exasperated MCD spokesman.
The fund is to be created from a part of the
salary of veterinary officers, whom the court held
responsible for the persisting menace of stray
cattle on New Delhi's roads.
The spokesman said the court had just passed the
order and so the system was yet to be put in
place.
"We have to receive the notice and work out
the modalities. People may bring the cattle but we
cannot give the money just like that. We need to
find out whether they are genuinely stray,"
the official told IANS, adding the drive was
confined to south Delhi now.
On Friday, people who thought catching a cow would
be an easy way to make money ended up fighting it
out.
Many of the cows were not quite ready to be led
meekly to the pound, and some of the captured
cattle went running all over amid the commotion.
One man found a particularly stubborn cow that was
not prepared to give up without a fight. But
despite being muddied - and a little bloodied - in
the battle, the man refused to let go and rode his
scooter while chasing more cows.
Civic officers chuckled that catching a cow was
not as easy as it looked.
"Besides the effort of making the animal fall
in with your plans to take it to the pound, you
have to pay for the travel expenses, you have to
furnish an endorsement from the residents' welfare
association and a photo identity," said
Pradip kumar, assistant veterinary surgeon, MCD
south zone.
Residents'
welfare associations have to certify that the
animals being taken are indeed stray cows since,
as civic officials point out, New Delhi has many
cattle-owners among its citizens.
The cow is revered by millions of Hindus as a
mother, thus allowing these animals to roam free
on the roads, stopping traffic and occasionally
going berserk.
There are an estimated 40,000 stray cows in the
capital and they are as common a sight in the city
as trucks, cars, buses and pedestrians.
The court had in April given a one-week deadline
to the MCD to clear the tens of thousands of stray
cattle roaming the streets. But the menace
continues unabated
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