The sight of motorists navigating around stray cattle sitting in the middle of roads is a common despite the fact that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been catching them and penalising owners for leaving the animals free to roam on public property.
Determined to put an end to this menace, especially in the wake of complaints by citizens, the civic body is proposing to hike the fine on cattle owners.
The BBMP currently levies a fine of ₹600 per head of cattle and ₹300 per head of calf, under Section 10 of the Karnataka Cattle Trespass Act, 1966. This fine amount was notified by the government in May 2014.
“To catch stray cattle, we need at least one vehicle that is fitted with a hydraulic lift, and personnel to drive the vehicle and catch the cattle. Once caught, the cattle are taken to the cattle pound near the city market where they are given fodder and water. We need to recover at least part of the cost,” said a source.
The proposal to hike the fines will take into account these expenditures. However, the hike in fine will first have to be approved by the BBMP council.
Only one vehicle
Officials admitted that rounding up of stray cattle resumed recently after a gap of three months. Th BBMP did not have a vehicle to transport the cattle to the pound. “We now have one vehicle. We have outsourced the work to four personnel,” an official said. He added that the civic body had two other vehicles, but they are not suitable for the work. “Tenders were floated twice to carry out the necessary alterations, which is estimated to cost ₹6.5 lakh per vehicle, but there was no response. A fresh tender has been has floated,” the official said.
The civic body receives complaints about stray cattle mainly from areas adjacent to vegetable markets, such as Cottonpet, Binny Mill, Sajjan Rao Circle, Banashankari, Kanakapura Road. Till the end of October this year, officials had caught 214 cattle. Last year, the number was nearly 480.
“On several occasions, the cattle have been injured by vehicles. In some cases, old livestock or those that are diseased are abandoned on the streets by owners. In such instances, we contact animal welfare organisations who rescue these animals at no cost to the BBMP,” said the civic official.
