Sonepur: With a view to keep stray cattle away from streets, to make the Subarnapur cleaner and minimise the number of accidents, the District Collector Aboli Sunil Naravane, who assumed the post recently, has the launched ‘Go Shraddha’ programme here, August 15.
Initially the initiative was welcomed by the city dwellers, but as the days passed by, the cattle rearers stopped cooperating with the authorities, resulting in the initiative dying a premature death.
As of now, on any day at any given time, hundreds of stray cattle can be seen loitering or sleeping on main roads, lanes and by lanes. This has again started causing inconvenience to commuters. Accidents caused by these stray animals are also on the rise.
At the time of launching the ‘Go Shraddha’, the district administration and the municipal authorities had asked the cattle rearers not to let their cattle free on the roads. They were asked to take care of their domestic animals and keep them confined to their sheds. Moreover, they were requested to cooperate with the administration to keep the city clean and free from cattle on the roads.
Subsequently, cattle roaming on roads or in markets were caught and taken to the kine house at Kolhapada. At present, there are as many as 50 cows in this kine house. Surprisingly enough, no one has come forward to claim the ownership of these animals.
At the same time, the district administration’s plan to hand the cattle over to farmers or anyone interested in adopting them after seven days of their capture has not yet been implemented. Since there is no other kine house in the city and the existing one is already packed to its capacity, the remaining wandering cattle, numbering to around 500, are allowed to roam free. In such a situation, the future of ‘Go Shraddha’ initiative can easily be guessed.
When contacted, executive officer of Sonepur municipality Suryanshu Root said, “No one is turning up to claim the cattle kept at the kine house. We have intimated the police about it in writing. They are going to take appropriate step in this regard.”
