Chennai: Now, police to take stray cattle by the horns

CHENNAI: Don’t be surprised the next time you see policemen tying cattle or members of a patrol vehicle moving around with ropes to snare errant bovines.
Law enforcers in the city have been asked to keep an eye on free-ranging cattle apart from motorists during VVIP movement, and told to keep a rope handy to tie up cattle seen straying onto roads during VVIPs movement. This comes after some cattle stumbled into the path of the convoy of chief minister M K Stalin during a visit to North Chennai.
The instructions were issued on by a senior police officer who was monitoring traffic last week. Now, all traffic enforcement officers are seen with a five metre long rope in their vehicles.
“Unlike motorists, it is hard for policemen to control cattle. I think we should all get trained in handling them,” said an officer in Tondiarpet. “We were told that chasing away cattle could prove disastrous for motorists, so it is better to tie them up and later warn the owner for letting them loose on main roads,” he said.
Three years ago, to prevent stray cattle from disrupting traffic, the Chennai corporation had increased the fine to ₹10,000. It also collected maintenance charges from the animal owners. But, incidents of cattle straying on to roads continued.
When contacted, a senior police officer said free ranging cattle had caused several accidents in the recent past. “The present instructions have been issued to help prevent road accidents as well,” he said.