Bilaspur: The situation arose after the High Court scolded the district regarding the increasing tendency of cattle to die in accidents, and the district administration woke up. According to Bilaspur Collector Avnish Sharan, administrative officials went around their jurisdictions after dark to herd off stray cattle from the roads. The Kota SDM Yugal Kishore Urvasha was also accompanied by night patrolling in the Ratanpur area at midnight. That’s why, during my visit, cattle resting on the Bilaspur-Ambikapur National Highway were chased away.
Apart from this, High Court SDM Urvasha also actively interacted with toll gate operators, petrol pump staff, restaurant owners of highway-side eating joints and the locals, asking them to help avoid cattle blocks the roads. To this end, the collaborative approach was highlighted to ensure that measures have been taken to reduce the rate of accidents on the roads and are implemented in the letter.
This was after Collector Avnish Sharan had called all the SDMs of the district to a meeting where he told them to ensure that all measures are put in place to stop accidents that arise from stray cattle. He was quite clear to state that one cannot allow cows to be sitting on the road as trafficPCR 5 menace thus, there must be strict adherence to measures for both the day and night. He especially focused on increased awareness along road types, particularly highways and principal arterials in Masturi and Sendri.
To the collector’s orders, the schedule of road inspections is presented in detail. Every SDM has been posted to monitor and inspect roads in his or her area. The official body of the team is constituted with the collector by including the officials and staff members from revenue department, urban bodies, police as well as veterinary. Fitted with equipments known as ‘cow catchers’ these crews are required to take cattle off the roads in order to minimize on instances of traffic accidents and congestion.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!