A word of caution to cattle owners: If the BBMP team catches your cow or calf roaming the streets causing inconvenience to passers-by, they may slap an additional fine of Rs400.
Realising the gravity of the problem, BBMP’s animal husbandry wing has sent a proposal to the commissioner and mayor to increase the fine from `100 to `500 per stray cattle and from `50 to `250 for stray calf. Besides, the cattle owners will have to pay the amount spent by the department on fodder till the release of the cattle.
The fine will increase if the owners fail to collect their cattle in three days. From the fourth day, for every day, the owner has to pay the BBMP an additional fine of Rs50 for cattle and Rs25 for calf.
The BBMP says it has received several complaints on cattle menace, especially from Kalasipalya, KR Market area and Parvathipura.
“Whenever the BBMP receives a complaint, officers of the animal husbandry department will reach the spot to catch stray cattle. They will then take them to the cattle pound at Usman Khan Road near KR Market,” an officer said. Earlier, this task was handled by BBMP’s revenue department. The responsibility fell on animal husbandry department last November.
For catching the cattle, BBMP employs four hydraulic machines, one each for two zones. Along with an officer, four employees patrol the areas to catch stray animals.
The department caught 1,044 stray cattle between November 2010 and September 2011.
The department’s joint director Dr Parviz Ahmed Piran said cattle owners had been instructed not to leave their cattle in the streets to cause nuisance to pedestrians and motorists.
