Veterinary dept fails to check stray cattle
LET LOOSE Councillors demand closure of the department that has been unable to check unauthorised dairies and illegal animal trade which are the source of stray cattle in the city
NEWDELHI: The death of a 62-yearold woman, who was allegedly attacked by a cow in Wazirpur, has brought the focus back to the problem of stray cattle in the Capital with the veterinary department of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation coming under fire for ‘non-performance’.
The issue was raised at the North MCD standing committee meeting last week where the councillors demanded closure of the department alleging it had failed to conduct any drives even after the mishap.
“Though the department confirmed the incident, there has been no change in the situation and stray cattle can still be seen on the roads and near garbage dumps. There is also no mechanism to shift the strays to cow shelters,” said leader of opposition, Mukesh Goel.
Residents claim the stray cattle belong to illegal dairies that operate in urbanised villages such as Naharpur, Rangpura and Rithala Village, among others. They say that the dairy owners let loose the cattle to avoid the cost of feeding and as a result the strays feed on rotten vegetables and garbage thrown at dumping sites.
In 2010, the Delhi high court ordered the corporation to remove all illegal dairies from urbanised areas by September 2011.
“Since then, the veterinary department has been taking action against defaulters. But with limited staff, resources and ineffective mechanism we can’t go a long way,” said a senior official of North Corporation.
An official from the veterinary department said they had shared a list of 95 illegal dairies with the senior officials and the deliberative wing, including the
PEOPLE SAY THAT THE DAIRY OWNERS LET LOOSE THE CATTLE TO AVOID THE COST OF FEEDING SO THE STRAYS FEED ON GARBAGE
mayor.
Action against these dairies was to be cleared by the corporation house but nothing was done. A two-member committee had been constituted in each zone (including deputy commissioner, MCD and deputy commissioner of police) to deal with the issue but that too failed to yield any results, the official added.
Deepak Hastir, additional commissioner North Corporation pointed out that 105 positions of cattle catchers have been vacant for years. With only eight operational vehicles and 48 cattle catchers (of which 21 are on contract) the veterinary department has failed to come up with effective solutions.
“In some cases we filed an FIR. Areas such as Gud Mandi, Rajpura, Wazirpur and Tri Nagar are hubs of illegal dairies. Our staff members are often roughed up when they try to catch the stray cattle here,” the official said.
Illegal trade of animals from neighbouring states is also one of the main sources of stray cattle on Capital’s roads.
A senior official from the animal husbandry department, Government of Delhi NCT, accepted that there is no check post on border areas to stop the illegal transport of animals.
“We have identified 22 sites for check posts but these can’t be operational unless we have sufficient staff,” he said.
The veterinary department has been taking action against defaulters. But with limited staff, resources... we can’t go a long way.