Khattar govt vows to end stray cattle menace

ROHTAK: The Haryana government on Monday said it will make roads in the state free of stray cattle menace by August 15 .

In a meeting between deputy commissioners of 11 districts and additional principal secretary to chief minister, Rakesh Gupta, in Sonepat on Monday, it was announced that Panchkula, Mewat and Yamunanagar have already been made free of stray cattle menace while rest of the districts will be free by August 15.

According to government reports, the roads of these 11 districts — Nuh, Yamunanagar, Fatehabad, Panipat, Hisar, Panchkula, Rewari, Ambala, Sirsa, Karnal, Kurukshetra — were home to over 45,000 stray cattle in December 2016, out of which 17,000 have been placed in secure sheds. Stray cattle have caused several accidents across the state and destroyed crops. HT had in past months reported about the plight of farmers who were forced to sleep in the open in their fields in winter nights to save crops from the stray cattle.