Stray Cattle Menace Ravages Crops in Little Andaman, Horticulturists Seek Urgent Action

Rabindranath Biswas
Little Andaman/Diglipur, Sept. 05: Stray cattle destroying crops are increasingly turning into an unmanageable nightmare for horticulturists and vegetable cultivators in rural areas and in towns in Little Andaman.
According to information, the stray cattle menace has become a direct threat to the cultivation of various crops, vegetables, horticulture etc in Little Andaman.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha Daily, Shri Parimal Ch. Mondal, Pradhan, Gram Panchayat Vivekanandapur, Little Andaman said that stray cattle have become a real headache for every horticulturist and vegetable cultivator who are now waging a war against these abandoned cattle.
Herds of feral cows and bulls come out of nowhere at night and invade their horticulture and vegetable fields/farms in a big way, claimed Shri Parimal Ch. Mondal. Large groups of these animals completely ravage the fields they enter in, leaving no scope of defence for the horticulturists and vegetable cultivators, the Pradhan said. The abandoned cattle destroy flower plants of various types, small banana plants, areca nut plants etc and also prey on vegetables and wipe out the entire plot of vegetable plants in one stroke and then return to their hideouts, he rued. The Pradhan attributed the blame to those cattle farmers who reportedly abandon their cows after milking and then these cows form the herds of feral cows who then invade the fields and ravage the plants. These feral cows and bulls that are reportedly not less than 100-150 in a herd also severely damage the kitchen gardens as well; erecting railing/fencing around the field and kitchen garden prove to be futile as these stray cattle break open the fencing and wreak havoc on the plants and vegetables, the Pradhan said. Encapsulating the stray cattle menace, Shri Parimal Ch. Mondal said that feral cows and bulls have become a real headache for horticulturists and vegetable growers and they are not seeing any concrete initiative from the administration to be aimed at beating the menace of these stray cattle.
The Pradhan further said that tagging the cattle would be a step forward to alleviate the problem to some extent, but it is going to end the menace of stray cattle completely, he argued. However, the Pradhan said that the concerned department should initiate tagging of cattle in every village, and at the same time the Administration should come out with a permanent solution to completely do away with the stray cattle menace, he further said.