Cattle battle seals Haryana, Punjab borders

CHANDIGARH:This vigil at the boundaries of two neighboring states is one of a kind, since it is for not criminals but stray cattle.
Two to five stick-wielding guards man the intercity borders of Panchkula, Zirakpur, Sector 20, Peer Muchalla, and Sectors 21 round the clock. Their job is to not allow any stray cow or buffalo into their territory. They are on duty for the past fortnight, as a result of a war of allegations between cities over pressing cattle into each other’s jurisdiction.

Zirakpur municipal council executive officer Manvir Gill said: “We are surprised at the attitude of Panchkula officers. They are polishing their city at the cost of our area. It is not just the cattle. Zirakpur is also getting Panchkula’s polluted water, garbage, and migrants. All the jhuggis removed from Panchkula have moved to Zirakpur. Since cattle was the biggest issue, we have deployed our people on the border.”
Peer Muchalla councillor Ekta Nagpal described how stray cattle had led to traffic chaos and accidents in the area. “We don’t know whose cattle it is but we haven’t seen it on our roads for the past fortnight,’’ she said, “all thanks to new measures taken by the Zirakpur Municipal Council.”
Confronted, Panchkula municipal commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said the city also had its arrangements to prevent the entry of cattle.
He denied that Panchkula was responsible for any neighbouring town’s cattle problem. “Since our cattle pounds are packed, we have stopped catching stray cows and buffaloes for a month. Now our effort is not to let any animal in from the nearby areas or allow the cattle to capture roads,” Jogpal said.
The civil hospitals of Panchkula and Derabassi receive many people injured in road accidents because of stray cattle.