Policing can wait as cops turn cattle catchers in Bathinda
BATHINDA : Policing can wait for cops in Bathinda. For, they have another job on their hands — that of dealing with the stray cattle menace.
In what came as a surprise for many, a team of cops led by deputy superintendent of police (DSP city-1) Gurjeet Singh Romana on Thursday started a drive to catch stray animals that have increasingly become a cause of frequent mishaps on the city roads.
The men in uniform, accompanied by some locals, were seen catching the animals and loading them onto tractor-trailers at Multania road locality and other areas.
Romana said he held a meeting on Wednesday on the issue and decided to start the campaign to catch the stray cattle. “The traffic cops have been particularly asked to ensure that roads are free of stray cattle in their area. At least four animals were caught on Thursday and send to cow pounds,” he said.
“The purpose behind the move is to rid the city roads of the stray cattle menace which is resulting in loss of lives and injuries. A meeting will also be held with the management of cowsheds in this regard and hopefully the city will free of the problem soon,” Romana added.
Surprisingly, Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh expressed ignorance about the DSP’s decision. “It’s not the duty of police to catch the stray cattle but they can assist the civic authorities in doing so,” he said.
Bathinda municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill too said he was not aware of any such campaign started by the city police.
As per an estimate, there are over 4,000 stray cattle in the city. “The civic body caught nearly 750 stray cattle recently. We have sought expression of interest for guarding the points from where animals enter the city,” he said. As many as 15 people have lost their lives to road accidents caused by stray cattle in the district till August this year while many more were injured.
DSP (CITY-1) ON THURSDAY STARTED A DRIVE TO CATCH STRAY ANIMALS