Cows in Jammu get geo-tagged as civic body looks to tackle stray menace

The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has startedgeo-tagging of cows to tackle the menace of stray cattle on the city’s roadswhich often leads to traffic congestion and is a major cause of accidents,officials said Wednesday.

The officials said geo-tagging would help them to identifyowners of stray cows and penalise them.

   

“We have started geo-tagging of cattle in the areasfalling under the jurisdiction of the JMC and are hopeful of completing theprocess within next six months to achieve our goal of making the city free fromstray cattle menace,” Municipal Veterinary Officer, Zaffar Iqbal, toldPTI.

He said all 300 dairies in the city and the cattle which arecaught roaming freely on the roads would be covered under the drive.

“A 15-digit tag is injected into the skin of the animalnear the neck which will help us keep a tap on the animal, besides providingthe details of its owner. Once the tagging is done, its owner will be fined ifthe animal is caught for the second time roaming on the streets and impoundedif caught for the third time,” the officer said.

He said geo-tagging has no harmful effect on the animals.

“We have started this drive some time back and so farwe have tagged over 300 cows in the city. The mass-level tagging covering allthe 300 dairies in Jammu will be started in a couple of days and the process isexpected to be completed within the next six months,” Iqbal said.

He said majority of dairy owners, after milking theircattle, let them free on the streets, resulting in frequent traffic jams and accidents.

The tagging would not only keep the roads free from strayanimals, but would also help in checking bovine smuggling, theft of the animalsand ownership rights over the animals as sometimes different parties claim theownership of an animal once picked up by the JMC from the city roads.

He said the JMC will also approach the police against theowner of those animals which are caught for the second time for legal action.

A special drive is already on to pick up stray animals fromdifferent areas of the city, he said, adding that the lifted cattle are kept atJMC cattle pound, while those sick or injured are provided treatment atMunicipal Animal Care Centre.

Deputy Mayor Purnima Sharma said the corporation is planningto set up its own cow shelter for the impounded animals.

“We are planning to set up a big cow shelter of our ownto take care of the impounded animals. It will also help generate employmentand revenue for the corporation,” she said.

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