Pregnant woman attacked by cattle, VMC cracks down on pounds amid chaos
The pregnant woman sustained serious injuries Tuesday night after a stray cow went berserk and charged into the residential lane where the family lives.
3 min read
The residents protested claiming two other children were recently injured in similar attacks by stray cattle in the area. (Express file photo, representational)A pregnant woman was grievously injured after being attacked by a cow in the Salatwada area of Vadodara late Tuesday night. Following the incident and a massive protest by the residents in the area, the cattle impounding team of the encroachment removal department of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) sealed three cattle pounds and confiscated nearly 22 cows from the area, resulting in chaos and protests by the cattle herders.
The pregnant woman sustained serious injuries Tuesday night after a stray cow went berserk and charged into the residential lane where the family lives. The woman, who had stepped out to fetch her four-year-old daughter who was playing in the lane, realised that the cow was charging towards her child. “She moved in to save her daughter and was injured in the process… The cow was violent and the woman was thrown into the air and later, the cow attacked her again. As she was pregnant and seriously injured, she was immediately rushed to the hospital,” a neighbour of the family told reporters Wednesday.
The residents protested claiming two other children were recently injured in similar attacks by stray cattle in the area. Following the incident, the cattle impounding team of the VMC cracked down on three cattle pounds and sealed them, confiscating 22 cattle. The action led to a major showdown between the officials and the cattle herders, who challenged the VMC to find the actual animal that had attacked the pregnant woman.
Mayor Keyur Rokadia said action was taken as the VMC has warned cattle owners that “serious incidents” will not be spared. “The VMC has already issued multiple warnings to cattle owners that if any such attack occurs, the cattle impounding team will immediately seal all cattle pounds in the area… The family of the woman, who has unfortunately been injured, has refused to file a complaint when the VMC officers asked them to register an FIR. So, the VMC, instead, has filed an FIR in the case against the unidentified cattle owner. We are doing all that we can to curb the menace, but the citizens should also come forward to fight the menace,” Rokadia said.
Cattle herders in Salatwada, however, were engaged in a heated altercation with the VMC officials, including the ward officer of administrative ward number 7, over the action initiated against all cattle owners. Even as the cattle owners demanded to know why tethered cattle were being taken away from private spaces, Ward Officer Milan Shah said, “The private spaces are not licensed cattle pounds. The cattle owners are indulging in verbal altercations but the fact is they are supposed to comply with the regulations and seek licences. So long as they don’t get licences done, the sheds and pounds are illegal. We have initiated action as per instructions from the senior officers and sealed about four pounds here.”
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