In the added areas of the Chennai Corporation, stray cattle pose a threat to the safety of motorists. With cattle hogging the stretches in these areas, the risk of accidents goes up.
Despite the ban on stray cattle within Corporation limits, herds of cattle can be seen blocking the roads on arterial stretches cutting across busy areas of south Chennai, including Velachery, Taramani, Madipakkam, Adambakkam, Perungudi, Kottivakkam and Neelankarai.
V. Rama Rao, social activist in Nanganallur, said accidents involving bovines took place regularly in these areas. Except for a few that got registered at the local police stations, these cases went unreported, he added.
Mr. Rao said six months ago, local Corporation officials were carrying out an intensive drive against stray cattle, impounding them and slapping fines on the owners, adding that this exercise put an end to the menace, but only temporarily.
For, the drive soon lost steam and the cattle were back on the roads.
Mr. Rao also referred to the order of the Delhi High Court in 2007 which states that stray cattle can cause traffic problems. P. Sajeevan, a social activist from Perungudi, complained about the rampant stray cattle menace on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, MGR Salai and East Coast Road.
He said that a few months ago on MGR Salai in Perungudi, he had escaped an accident by a whisker.
Cattle were lying down in the middle of the road and if he had not slammed on the brakes on time, he would have rammed the herd.
He said that whenever someone brought a problem involving stray cattle to the notice of the local officials, they revealed the identity of the complainant to the cattle owners, which put him in an embarrassing situation.
A senior official of the City Traffic Police said the traffic personnel, in association with the Chennai Corporation, had been carrying out regular drives to seize stray cattle in the city, including the extended areas.
