The traffic wing of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate has beefed itself up for a task outside its usual traffic management duties — ensuring that the superfast Kalyani Expressway, which connects Calcutta and satellite city Kalyani in Nadia, is kept free of bovines that often become the cause of accidents.
A police source stated that the traffic wing, in collaboration with the animal resources development (ARD) department, has launched a campaign in at least 42 villages on either side of the expressway to raise awareness among villagers about the dangers of allowing their cattle to wander onto the road.
“This is to inform villagers that vehicles move at high speed on the Kalyani Expressway. So, do not allow your cattle to go onto the road. This may cause accidents, leading to the death of your cattle and serious accidents for vehicles and commuters. Please do not let your cattle stray onto the road,” reads the English translation of the Bengali campaign jointly conducted by the police and the animal resources development department.
The Kalyani Expressway is a 44.17 km, six-lane tolled expressway connecting Calcutta with Kalyani. The project also includes an elevated connector to the Belghoria Expressway to improve integration and traffic flow, with a total length of around 4.565km for the connector and widening segments. A source said the final stretch of work is still pending.
In recent years, Kalyani’s importance has increased as it houses two key institutions — AIIMS Kalyani and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata. However, its surroundings are rural, which explains the presence of cattle.
“After witnessing several accidents caused by cattle, we decided to create awareness among the owners of bovines. The ARD department, which maintains a database of cattle in the area, is involved in the drive to identify pockets where cattle are most likely to stray onto the roads,” said Amlan Kusum Ghosh, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Barrackpore Police Commissionerate.
“We have carried out a campaign in 42 villages spread across different gram panchayats like Kampa, Ghoaghachi I and II, Mohanpur, and Bandipur, along the 30 km stretch of the expressway under our jurisdiction,” he added.
A source said police had recently recorded at least half a dozen minor road accidents involving cattle, mainly cows, colliding with cars and bikes. Earlier this month, two motorbike riders were seriously injured and a cow was killed in a head-on collision.
In the past, several cars were forced off the road while trying to avoid accidents with stray cattle.
“Although no major accident has occurred so far, there is a high risk of serious mishaps due to cows that stray onto the road. The campaign has been helping a lot as villagers have begun to realise that any accident would not only damage vehicles and harm commuters but also cost them their beloved animals,” said a senior police officer in Barrackpore.
As a large part of the expressway is elevated, police said cows often come up via the service roads and reach the elevated stretch, creating serious hazards for traffic.
Police officers said they held a survey on why cattle come onto the roads and identified specific locations frequently used by bovines.
“During our survey, we found that cows and buffaloes would cross the road back when it was a single lane to move from one grazing ground to another. They do the same even though the stretch is now an expressway. Another reason is the availability of grass on the dividers. The bovines nibble on them,” said a senior police officer.
According to statistics from the ARD department, there are around 20,000 cows and buffaloes in the Barrackpore I and II blocks. Since department officials and staff regularly visit households rearing cattle, they maintain detailed records of owners.
“We have around 20,000 cattle in the area. We have been campaigning in all villages, requesting owners not to let their animals onto the road. We are hopeful it will work the police are helping us. Our staff, using mobile veterinary vehicles, are visiting villages to request cattle owners to monitor the movement of their animals,” said Hemanta Kumar Das, block livestock development officer of Barrackpore II block.
Asked what the police would do if the campaign fails and cattle continue to stray onto the expressway, DCP (traffic) Ghosh said: “We hope the campaign will help us keep most cows off the road. If it still does not work, we will initiate legal action against cattle owners to ensure the expressway is kept accident-free.”