Motoring comes with an inbuilt element of risk. Motorists on the busy thoroughfares as well as the interior roads of Nanganallur are faced with an added risk factor: stray cattle.
The problem of cattle straying on to the roads is acute in Ram Nagar, where the space beneath the Thillai Ganga Nagar Bridge on Third Main Road, Ram Nagar, serves as a grazing ground.
Vegetable waste dumped by traders and residents of the area attract the cattle to the area. Many residents and motorists complain that these cattle block the road, hindering the free movement of traffic. It is not unusual to see drivers and passengers stepping out of their vehicles to shoo away these bovines.
“ Motorists are often forced to apply sudden brakes. Twice, I have fallen twice off the bike due to this problem. Things are worst on Second Main Road and people must be careful while riding on the road, especially at night,” says A. Venugopal, a resident of Ram Nagar. “Cattle owners, who rear them within city limits, do not bother to take them to the sheds at night. This problem continues on Second Main Road despite repeated pleas to the civic body,” says K.S. Nagaraj, a resident of Nanganallur. Other stretches that are plagued by the problem include Ram Nagar Sixth Street and Eighth Street and Tenth Street, Nanganallur.
Several vegetable and fruit vendors have complaints about the stray cattle. They say cows often enter the shops and eat away the fruits and vegetables if no one is around.
“Cattle owners just milk the cows and send them to the streets to graze for water,” F. Victor, a fruit vendor says.
When contacted, the officials of the Chennai Corporation said that necessary steps would be taken at the earliest. “We conduct drives periodically, across the city, to round up cattle found on the streets and fine the owners,” they say.
