Cattle menace complaints can be made by dialling 100, Gujarat tells HC

The association, in an affidavit, has suggested, that by “the law of tort”, the owner of cattle will be liable to compensate the person who has suffered injury or which has resulted in death of the person, and to this effect such owners must be identified immediately and are “required to pay ad-hoc compensation in public law remedy to the family of the victim and/or to the person who is injured.”

Meanwhile, the state government through its government pleader Manisha Lavkumar Shah, on Thursday, detailing the action taken so far for tackling the menace, submitted that grievances over cattle menace can be alerted to by citizens by dialling 100 — the police emergency number — even as it submitted that the monsoons are making construction of cattle pounds a challenge and is thus taking some time to establish such pounds. Shah further added that awareness programmes are being undertaken among stakeholders while remarking that “governance and balancing of everyone’s interests is not an easy task.”

Shah further outlined that “police authorities have identified hotspots” where cattle menace is greater and in such areas the state proposes to install CCTVs, while adding that the state’s long-term plan of action to tackle cattle menace, includes “identification of (hotspot) areas, data analysis and monitoring.”

Shah also brought to the court’s notice that with the spread of the lumpy skin disease among cattle, moving cattle out of the district of Ahmedabad has been a challenge. “Eeven when we are trying to move them (stray cattle) out of Ahmedabad, the district collectors are refusing to take them because the chances of all other cattle being infected (with lumpy skin disease) is very strong,” said Shah.

The state government on August 24 had submitted that the Gujarat Cabinet deliberated on the issue of cattle menace and had announced that municipal corporations have been directed to put up temporary cattle pounds, at the expense of the corporation and subsequently reimbursed by the state government.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 4.