Stray cattle impediment in Faridabad’s smart city goal

Bijendra Ahlawat

The stray cattle menace is an irritant for Faridabad, the largest populated city of Haryana, in becoming a smart city.

Hundreds of cattle, including bulls and cows, can be seen squatting or wandering on roads in every nook and corner of Faridabad city. This not only makes roads unsafe for commuters, but also belies the claims of the district authorities regarding the work being done to make the city free from stray cattle. 

Ajay Bahl, a social activist, had recently sought information from the district administration under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He was shocked to learn that in the reply to his application it was mentioned that no accident or accidental death due to stray cattle had taken place in Faridabad district so far. 

He says that a number of accidents due to stray cattle squatting in the middle of roads take place in the city. The police either do not register a DDR in such cases or there is none to be made a party. In such cases, the responsibility should fall directly on the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), which is duty bound to remove stray cattle from roads or public places, he adds. 

Bahl says that the state government had set up a Gau Sewa Ayog (State Commission for Cows) a few years ago, but it has not issued even one challan against the owners of stray cattle. Persons, who leave their milch cattle on roads, are liable to pay a penalty of Rs 5,100 each time. 

“Faridabad is among the select cities where the Smart City Project costing Rs 2,600 crore is being implemented. The civic infrastructure and basic amenities are being improved under the project,” says an official.

Varun Sheokand, another social activist, says that the district administration is not bothered about the problem. He also met with an accident involving a stray cow on the main city bypass last month. A cow came on the highway all of a sudden, crashed into his new Maruti Swift car and fell on its bonnet, causing heavy damage to it and minor injuries to him. The car repair cost him over Rs 1 lakh, he adds. Several accidents take place on the 13-km bypass alone, which are not normally reported to the police, he says.

Ajay Verma, a local resident, says that there are several spots in the city where stray cattle can be seen at anytime of the day. He had seen several road accidents involving stray cattle in the past couple of years. “Though the district administration had announced August 18, 2017, as the deadline for removing all stray animals from the roads of Faridabad city, the problem continues to persist even today,” says Devender Singh Surjewala, a resident of Sector 21 C. 

He says that the large number of stray cows and dogs is a cause of inconvenience and danger to the lives of commuters. 

Kusum Chaudhary, a resident of Sector 8, says that she cannot forget an incident of October 21, 2017, when a stray cow attacked her. She suffered head injuries and remained hospitalised for several days. A senior functionary of the Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog is residing in her neighbourhood in Sector 9 but there has been no relief from the stray cattle problem.

“We have released a tender and the work order to a private agency to remove all stray animals from the roads of Faridabad city,” says Deepak Kinger, Executive Engineer, MCF. He adds that as the MCF vehicles are not permitted to ply because these are more than 10 years old, the civic body has given an annual contract to remove stray cattle to a private party. The stray cattle will be shifted to cow shelters located at Mothuka, Mohna, Fajjupur Khadar, Newada Tigaon, Pyala, Bhopani and Kheri Gujran villages, besides three shelters at Mawai, Unchagoan and Surajkund. 

He says that a survey will be conducted soon to ascertain the number of stray cattle in the city.