Avirup Ghosh & P Ramesh Kumar
Port Blair, Aug 14: Entire country is celebrating Independence Day but it seems that people of A & N Islands are still living under the Bovine Rule.
Stray cattle menace is continuing to haunt the Port Blair city and the bovines are seen frequently squatting on main and other internal roads in the town.
The cattle come in search of fodder and feed themselves on garbage thrown along the roadside and then squat on the roads causing a lot of inconvenience to the pedestrians as well as the motorists.
Port Blair Municipal Council is always been impossible with the collection of garbage dumped in bins located at certain points. Due to improper management of garbage by the PBMC, stray cattle get an opportunity to feed on garbage from the bins.
The residents feel that the cattle owners are not taking proper care of their bovines and so they stray into the town and the suburbs in search of food and water.
The spots where stray cattle are found resting in groups in the town are Chakkargaon, Delanipur Junction, Mohanpura, Government Press road, South Point, Shadipur etc.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, a dairy farmer of New Pahargaon said that the feeding of cattle has become a major problem for the marginal dairy farmers. “The prices of fodder have gone very high and expenditure and income in dairy occupation do not match. The main reason behind this is the lack of grazing lands which were earlier available in plenty. Cattle are to be provided fodder and water. But, some abandon their cattle for grazing and such bovines stray into the town and the suburbs,” he added.
“The problem of stray cattle menace has occurred because of careless dairy farming. People are less interested in taming cattle and those who have tamed them are less attentive towards taking their proper care,” said an official of PBMC who doesn’t want his name to be quoted.
However, it has been observed that the stray cattle which are found in the town are mostly from suburb areas as there are very few dairy farmers in the town. The villagers should be given proper warning and should be convinced to take proper care of their cattle.
