Private agency to catch strays in Mohali

MOHALI: Expressing inability to control the stray cattle menace on its own, the Mohali municipal corporation on Wednesday okayed the agenda to hire a private agency to catch stray animals in the town.

Currently, the MC is facing staff crunch to tackle the problem. The agency or contractor will be paid as per the number of cattle caught.

The agenda was taken up in the MC house meeting on Wednesday evening and it got nod from the councillors.

Earlier, MC commissioner Bhupinder Pal Singh said they were struggling to tackle the problem due to lack of staff.

Sources said on March 12, the MC officials had demanded manpower to catch stray cattle, but the local government had denied their request, asking the MC to handle the issue with existing resources.

Source said the Mohali MC has got only one cattle-catcher vehicle and six employees, including the driver, for the purpose. With the government refusing to supplement manpower, the MC had proposed to give the work to a private agency.

It was pointed out in the agenda that the sanitation department catches stray cattle daily. However, the number of stray cattle is increasing rapidly and it has become a major problem for residents as well as for the MC.