Even as stray cattle menace is causing fatal accidents that has so far claimed five lives in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts after the commencement of north-east monsoon, the local bodies which need to act tough against the owners of the stray cattle are in a slumber.
When postman Selvaraj of Ambasamudram, the sole breadwinner of the family, was riding his bike ten days back along the busy main road, the two-wheeler was knocked down by two bulls part of a herd standing on the middle of the road.
Suffering multiple injuries, including head injury, he died in the hospital.
Home-maker Lakshmi of Veeravanallur, who was going along with her husband on a bike at night, met with an accident after the bike hit a bull lying on the middle of the road.
After being admitted to a private hospital in Tirunelveli Junction, Lakshmi breathed her last last week.
On Friday, when the driver of a speeding bus swerved his vehicle to avoid hitting a cow that suddenly crossed the road at Sanganthiradu near Suththamalli in the district, the bus overturned in the roadside ditch and 47-year-old Latha.
Again two vans collided at Kulasekarapattinam in Thooothukudi district when the driver of one of the vans hit a herd lying on the middle of the road near Kulasekarapattinam – Manappad police check-post.
While van driver Suresh, 45, of Idaiyanvilai near Agastheeswaram died in the hospital on December 2, Kamala Vasanthi, 60, of Vadakkankulam succumbed to her injuries on Friday night.
“These mishaps, all caused by the stray cattle, have not prompted the local bodies concerned to impound these domestic animals and impose hefty fine on the owners if they want to get their animals back. Else, the impounded animals should be handed over to the authorised cowsheds or women self-help groups, as announced by Tirunelveli Corporation. Since there is no action, the problem continues,” said auto driver Samson of Perumalpuram, who suffered multiple injuries when one of the fighting bulls hit his autorickshaw that overturned.
Condemning the Corporation’s slackness in impounding the stray cattle, the Social Democratic Part of India cadre caught the bulls and the cows standing on the roads and roaming around posing danger to road users in Melapalayam on Saturday. Even as the SDPI cadres were catching the stray cattle at Melapalayam, Ravuf of Meerapillai Street in Melapalayam was knocked down by a bull in the nearby cattle shandy area.
A profusely bleeding Ravuf, who suffered a jaw injury, was rushed to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.
After one of the Melapalayam residents was badly injured by a stray bull, the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath, has announced that its cadre would lay siege to the Corporation’s Melapalayam Zone office on Monday (December 9).
“Even after we forwarded several appeals to the Corporation officials requesting them to impound the stray cattle in Melapalayam area, the urban civic body that impounded the domestic animals in other areas, has not acted in our area (Melapalayam). Hence we’ve decided to lay siege to the Corporation’s Melapalayam office on Monday evening, which will compel them to accept our demand,” said the TNTJ office-bearers.
