The police and Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation authorities seized at least 110 cattle on the roads during a joint drive on Saturday night. The drive concluded on Sunday morning.
A team of 60 personnel seized the cattle that were found roaming on the two national highways (Machilipatnam-Vijayawada and Gudiwada-Machilipatnam) and other roads in the town.
In recent years, many road accidents have been reported due to the presence of cattle on the roads. On Sunday, Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation Commissioner S. Siva Ramakrishna and Bandar Deputy Superintendent of Police Mehaboob Basha conducted a meeting with the cattle owners, proposing to seize, impose fine and auction the cattle for the offence of letting the animals on the roads.
“Statistics show that there are nearly 30,000 cattle in the municipal corporation limits. A majority of them are seen on the roads in search of food, particularly in areas such as the market yard and other locations. The proposal is to impose a fine of ₹1,000 on the cattle owner if the animals are found on the road for the second time. A proposal to conduct cattle auction is also being examined,” Mr. Siva Ramakrishna aid.
The civic body is identifying land to set up a temporary shelter to shift the cattle seized during the raids.
In a press release, Krishna Superintendent of Police M. Ravindranth Babu said; “A special drive to check the movement of cattle on the roads will be taken up every Saturday night, addressing the cattle problem on the roads in the Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation limits.”