The Gujarat High Court gave time till 4 pm on Wednesday to the Gujarat government to take steps to strictly control the stray cattle menace on the roads, during a hearing, even as the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) told the court that it had been unable to manage the stray cattle owing to government notifications prohibiting the transportation of cattle in light of lumpy skin disease (LSD). The AMC submission came during the mentioning of a contempt application alleging wilful disobedience of earlier high court orders on managing the stray cattle menace and directions on improving road conditions and traffic issues. Mentioned before the division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice A J Shastri, AMC’s counsel Satyam Chhaya admitted that since the “last four weeks”, the cattle menace was at its maximum “because of LSD outbreak.” “There are notifications issued by the state government that we cannot transport the cattle, we cannot bring cattle at a particular place…In Ahmedabad, we have minimised catching of cattle because of this notification issued by the state government and district collector of Ahmedabad…if we gather cattle at one particular place, there is a possibility of increase in (spread) of disease.” The bench, however, warned the government pleader representing the state government that if “some concrete, strict proposal” which is implemented on “war footing basis, commencing from tomorrow”, on curbing the cattle menace is not presented before the court by 4 pm, the court will pass orders. “In Surat, one man is killed and this is very alarming…Let no one else die. We don’t want anyone else to be injured also. You have seen in the social media (about cattle menace)? Yesterday a senior advocate was also mentioning about the problems they’re encountering (due to cattle menace),” Chief Justice Kumar remarked, addressing the government pleader. The bench is due to hear the petition further at 4 pm.
