Rescuing stray cattle from wells and open drains has become a burden for fire officials.
Fire brigade personnel of Berhampur say while fire accidents are on the rise in summer, cases of cattle rescue have become a major trouble for them.
“Much manpower is getting used in this cattle rescue work,” said deputy fire officer of Berhampur, S.P.Behera.
The official data on cattle rescue operations hint at this rising problem. In 2013, Berhampur fire brigade personnel got involved in 116 operations. The greatest irony was that 65 of them were related to rescue of cattle and buffaloes from wells, ponds, open drains ins the city and on its outskirts. Since January, out of 31 rescue operations taken up by the Berhampur fire brigade, 23 were for cows and buffaloes.
Fire officials say it is hard to rescue cattle and there are chances of injuries during such operations. Traditional religious beliefs of locals put extra pressure on fire officials during these rescue operations.
A large number of stray cows and buffaloes move around the city. These are the ones which fall into open wells, drains and muddy ponds. It is alleged that the owners of these cows and buffaloes leave them in the open and look for them at the time of milking. City police also accept that these animals are a great problem for traffic management. The Berhampur Municipal Corporation has till date failed to curb the menace of stray cows and buffaloes in Berhampur.
Relocate
Since 2003, plans have been on to shift the domesticated buffaloes in the city limits to a place outside the city. But despite several plans it has not materialised.
The problem that these buffaloes and cows cause for city dwellers can be assessed from the fact that in 2007 during the visit of the then President, APJ Abdul Kalam, to the Berhampur, buffalo owners had to be requested by the administration to keep their animals out of the city limits for three days.
