Stray cattle impounding drive begins in Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has begun a drive to impound stray cattle after two people were killed by the bovines in the past few days.

The drive, which started on Monday, saw a clash between civic officials and cattle owners in the city's Odhav area, officials said.

"The AMC has launched a stray cattle impounding drive as they cause traffic problems and there have been incidents of people being gored to death," said AMC Commissioner Vijay Nehra Tuesday.

"Last year we had impounded 18,000 cattle from the streets of Ahmedabad. However, anything between 50,000-60,000 are still roaming around. The drive will continue till the streets are clear of them," he added.

Nehra said cattle caught are being radio-tagged so that identity of its owners can be known and action taken in case they let them roam loose on the streets.

The AMC chief said cattle owners were given plots for sheds two decades ago but several of them turned these into commercial spaces and let cows and buffaloes roam in the open.

"We will identify such construction and take action against those involved. The drive against stray cattle is vital to make the city smart, clean and green," he said.

Incidentally, Ahmedabad was adjudged the country's cleanest big city in the Central government's 2019 edition of the Swachh Survekshan programme.

While Monday's drive was marred by an incident in Odhav where owners clashed with civic officials and managed to free 28 impounded cattle, the day also saw AMC teams catching 152 stray cattle.

On Tuesday, another 55 were impounded, officials said.