Cattle straying from the roads | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to equip stray cows with fluorescent strips especially at night to reduce the risk of road accidents.
This program aims to improve the visibility of stray cattle to drivers, thereby preventing collisions and protecting the lives of people and animals, officials said.
According to these officials, fluorescent strips will be placed on the horns and necks of the stray cattle. These shiny strips will be illuminated by the headlights of cars, making the animals easier to see in poorly lit areas, thus reducing the number of accidents caused by unexpected encounters with these animals on the roads.
Director of Animal Husbandry Department PN Singh said that the project has reached the final stage and is expected to get approval soon.
“This proposal has been discussed for the past two weeks and has been forwarded to the relevant minister for final approval,” he said.
The Department of Animal Husbandry is slated to act as a key agency in the implementation of this project.
The introduction of fluorescent strips on stray cattle is part of a wider program to deal with the problem of stray animals in the province. According to official records, Uttar Pradesh currently has about 15 lakh stray cattle, of which about 12 lakh are living in animal shelters.
The remaining three lost cows are partly owned by families who no longer own them under the Sahbhagita scheme. These families receive up to Rs 1,500 per month for food. One family can participate in this program with four cows.
Experts say that the stray cattle problem in UP is caused by a combination of factors. One main reason is the lack of proper husbandry practices, which leads to uncontrolled breeding and animal abandonment.
Additionally, strict government regulations on animal slaughter, including a total ban on cattle slaughter, have been identified as factors that may lead farmers to discard their cattle beyond their productive years.
The issue of stray cows has become a topic of conversation, as the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) has always criticized the state government for its failure to properly control the problem.
The issue received a lot of attention during the 2022 assembly elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressing the issue at public meetings. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has made the issue of stray cows one of the key planks of the election.
(Only the headline and image for this report may have been reused by Business Standard staff; other content is automatically generated from the trade feed.)
First published: Sep 19 2024 | 8:08 PM IST