Stray cow gores 80-year-old Chennai man with speech impairment; owner booked

CCTV footage of the incident showed the elderly man being thrown onto the road. Passersby took him to the Omandurar government hospital, where Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Radhakrishnan visited him.

Corporation officials later seized five stray cattle that were found roaming around the area and fined their owners Rs 5,000 each.

A fine of Rs. 5000 was imposed for each cattle found roaming on the streets, with a total of 5 cattle apprehended in Thiruvallikeni. Concerning the incident that occurred this morning, #GCC has filed a case against the cattle owner under the appropriate section, (1/2) pic.twitter.com/cp8z9kNQ7V

— Greater Chennai Corporation (@chennaicorp) October 18, 2023

Injuries due to stray cattle have been on the rise in the Tamil Nadu capital. In August, a nine-year-old girl was attacked by a stray cow near Arumbakkam when she was returning home from school. The animal was seen picking up the girl on its horns and throwing her to the other side of the road.

In July near Anakaputhur, a 48-year-old pillion rider died after her husband tried to avoid a collision with an oncoming tanker and their two-wheeler hit a cow that was in the middle road.

Officials of the civic body said that 3,737 stray cattle were seized from the roads in the past one year.

“We are not against the cattle owners. If they have the space to raise five cattle or two cattle, they can operate accordingly. However, in Nanganallur, in one house alone around 40 cattle were found. Without having their own space, the owners let loose these cattle on the road making them feed on whatever is available, and a few among the public are also providing them food. These cattle are attacking bikes and pedestrians. The corporation will not step back from its seizure activity,” Radhakrishnan told reporters, adding that 90 per cent of the people supported the civic body’s measures.

The stray cattle’s health is also affected as they feed on whatever is available on the streets, the corporation commissioner said, citing a recent incident of 62 kg of plastic waste being recovered from a cow’s stomach at Madras Veterinary College in the city.

Radhakrishnan said that corporation workers were patrolling the city to catch stray cattle. The public can dial 1913 to report the stray cattle menace.