Un-corralled cattle menace

JORHAT, Oct 11: Jorhatians, already suffering from congested roads, traffic chaos and long jams are now facing another traffic hazard in the guise of un-corralled cattle and lunatics– the former having caused a number of accidents. Unaware cyclists and two-wheeler riders have often found themselves unceremoniously landing on their bottoms after hitting these animals plonked in the middle of the roads– pacifically chewing cud in silence. The most number of accidents have taken place on the road in front of the stadium near the Deputy Commissioner’s bungalow, the Nehru Park area, KB Road and the Jail Road in front of Jorhat MP Bijoy Krishna Handique’s residence. The owners of the cattle usually free their cows to graze on the grass in the stadium and round them up between 9 to 10 pm. Having had their fill the cattle wander out at dusk onto the unlit or semi-lit streets and cause a headache for unwary drivers. In fact, unfettered cattle is not a new problem in Jorhat and during the time of Deputy Commissioner Ravi Kota in the late nineties, a pound to keep these stray animals had been set up at Rowriah and drives were conducted to pick up stray cattle from time to time and coral them in the pound. The owner could free the animal after paying a fine of Rs 50. The pound, however, stopped its operations after the transfer of Kota. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited Jorhat a couple of years ago, the security review team had strictly ordered traffic police to keep the Jail Road free of cows after perceiving a number of animals on the route on which the fast moving convoy of the Prime Minister would take to reach the venue of the meeting. In the day time too, mangy horses have been seen grazing by the wayside in a number of roads and sometimes these animals make a sudden dash for the middle of the road resulting in screeching brakes and falls. To add to this are four to five mentally challenged persons, majority of them being women, roaming the streets. The semi-clad appearance of a couple of them divert the attention of drivers and pose a potential risk. Two of them who frequent the KB Road are reported to have defecated and urinated on top of two-wheelers. Although there are a number of socio-welfare organizations in Jorhat, none of them seem to be bothered to admit these mentally challenged persons for treatment and keep them off the streets. No one knows from where they have appeared and their filthy and dishevelled appearance arouses both disgust and pity. THE SENTINEL