Two persons, including a nine-year-old girl, sustained severe injuries in two separate incidents of cattle attacks in Vadodara in the past two days. While a 24-year-old man sustained 12 sutures on his face after a cow ran into his two-wheeler on Jetalpur road in Vadodara city, the nine-year-old sustained head and facial injuries in a cow attack near Koyali village. In the last ten days, three incidents of cattle attacks were reported in the city - the nine-year-old girl being the fourth case but outside the limits of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). The first incident allegedly occurred late on Sunday night when 24-year-old tattoo artist Hiren Parmar, a resident of Sayajingunj, where a speeding cow collided with his two-wheeler on the Alkapuri-Jetalpur road, throwing him off balance. Parmar sustained deep cuts on his face and injuries on his limbs. On Monday, he received 12 sutures on his face. Parmar told mediapersons, "I have suffered deep injuries. They are painful and my face has been disfigured. I was returning home after collecting my blazer for my pre-wedding photoshoot that was to be held on Monday. On the way, a stray dog began chasing a cow, which went out of control and ran into my two-wheeler; I could not dodge the animal as it was running wild. I am supposed to tie the knot in two weeks but with these injuries and stitches on my face, my big day will be ruined. The VMC is responsible for my condition." The nine-year-old girl, a resident of Nizampura area, was visiting Koyali village with her parents when a cow attack threw them off the road on Monday. The girl received a deep gash under her right eye that needed seven sutures. The girl said, "My father was riding the two-wheeler when a cow suddenly came running in our direction. Before my father could react, we had been thrown to the ground. I have sustained painful injuries on my head, face and limbs." The girl's grandmother said, "When is the VMC going to ensure that people do not become victims of such reckless acts by animal owners? This attack took place on the outskirts of the city and it is easy for the VMC to claim that it did not happen in their jurisdiction but the same thing is happening in the city. The administration of their respective areas must act in time." Mayor Rokadia said that the VMC has decided to "restart" its aggressive campaign, including a joint crackdown along with the city police to keep stray cattle off city streets. Rokadia said, "We had initiated the drive (in October 2021) and managed to achieve results with the same. The cases of attacks have increased. So, we have decided to restart the joint crackdown with the city police teams from Tuesday (today) onwards." As part of the campaign, the VMC had announced that it would complete the radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging of animals in a joint drive with the Vadodara city police and take strict action against cattle keepers who fail to comply with the norms. The VMC, which has surveyed around 2000-cattle herding families, has been hitting the roadblock in its "cattle-free city" drive campaign since 2018.
