Bhopal/Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh): The state government’s efforts to protect cows have fallen through as thousands of stray animals can be seen moving on the highways. This is the reason why many cattle are killed in road accidents daily. A speeding truck ran over a dozen cows on the Jhansi-Bamitha four-lane near Keri Bridge in Chhatarpur in early hours of Saturday. Eleven cows were killed on the spot.
In another incident, a truck crushed nearly half dozen cows on the Malthone National Highway in Sagar. The Chhatarpur police said a case had been registered against the truck driver and the vehicle confiscated. Truck driver Dhirendra Kushwaha and Helper Pramod Kushwaha were also taken into custody, the police said.
Immediately after getting information about the accident, they rushed to the spot and acted against the truck driver and the helper, the police said. There is not a single highway where cattle are not seen. Other than cows, many people are also losing their lives in road accidents that generally occur because of the cattle.
Committee of officers fail to solve problem
The state government set up a committee on August 16 this year to control the movements of stray animals on roads. One month has passed since the committee was formed, but the number of cows on roads has not reduced. Nor the death of cattle in road accidents has stopped. The committee consists of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) (Home), ACS (Panchayat and Rural Development), ACS (PWD), Principal Secretary (PS) (Urban Development), and PS (Animal Husbandry Department).
