Yet another life was snuffed out of a youth in the wee hours of Tuesday in a tragic accident at Calangute. Uday Naik, a 24-year-old resident of Arradi, Candolim, met with a tragic death after the youth tried to avoid colliding against stray cattle squatting in the middle of the road, fell off his bike and succumbed to severe head injuries. According to the police, the accident occurred at around 3 am outside a popular restaurant in Naikavaddo. In the CCTV footage of the incident, Uday is seen trying his level best to avoid hitting a calf on the road, but unfortunately lost control over his vehicle, fell off and sustained serious injuries.
In June, stray cattle caused the death of a motor-cycle rider at Usgao, when a cow suddenly crossed his path. Sanjay Pednekar, a 52-year-old man from Pernem who was residing at Khandepar, lost control of his vehicle and collided against a bull and was flung metres away. A few days earlier, four bovines were killed and one was injured at Dhavalim junction after being knocked down by heavy vehicle.
On May 9, a car driver had a harrowing experience in Mapusa, when a cow suddenly appeared on the main road, resulting in a head-on collision with the speeding vehicle. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but the car sustained major damage. The cow was also injured and bleeding following the collision.
Last month, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that 25 per cent of the road accidental deaths are due to the stray cattle that roam around and squat on the roads. He said that the State requires 12 gaushalas (cattle shelter homes) to impound and take care of the stray cattle.
Earlier this year, even the High Court of Bombay in Goa, in a case related to stray cattle, had observed that as far as the municipal councils in Goa are concerned, the chief officers shall be responsible for ensuring that no stray cattle squaton public roads. The Court further directed the director of panchayats to issue detailed directions to each panchayat regarding measures to be adopted to deal with the issue.
The Calangute Panchayat in January this year issued a public notice stating that all cattle owners in its jurisdiction were requested not to leave their cattle on the road, especially during the night, failing which the Panchayat would lift the animals and send them to a gaushala.
While these orders were issued in January, six months later, the Calangute sarpanch acknowledged that the panchayat has not been able to round up the stray cattle because they did not have skilled manpower to do the job. He said that at least six people are needed to catch a single cow and special vehicles are needed to carry them away. He claimed that the government is not providing any support and those at the gaushala have distanced themselves.
It has been observed that in most cases the stray cattle have tags pierced to their ears and yet the government agencies, including the municipalities and panchayats, have not been able to take action against the owners of the cattle. One wonders what causes the authorities to drag their feet on the issue, as no exemplary punishment has been set and therefore the menace just keeps growing.
No one can deny the fact that Goan roads have become death traps with potholes, roads sinking, in addition to bad road engineering. The stray cattle menace, as acknowledged by the Chief Minister, is aggravating the problem and needs to be addressed at the earliest. Just lip service of expressing concern will not suffice. The government needs to draw up a concrete plan of action and not simply point to the gaushalas.