Cows on roads cause traffic problems in Patna. Picture y Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, May 27: Motorists may find it difficult to manoeuvre through the city traffic but cows have a free run on the thoroughfares.

Sources said though the administration has been able to reduce the number of cowsheds in and around the city, there has been an upsurge in the number of cows on many busy streets, including Nala Road, Kadamkuan, Rajendra Nagar, Kankerbagh, Boring Road, Buddha Road, Sinha Library Road, Ashiana-Digha road and others.

The bovine herd often create chaos and block traffic. Worse still, they make themselves comfortable on the roads and even cause accidents.

“Cows are considered sacred in Hindu religion. So, people do not hit these animals. Besides, vehicle honks

hardly have any effect on the mammals taking a leisurely walk on the road. The situation becomes abysmal when these cows decide to squat or take a nap in the middle of the road. I have hardly seen any administration official drive away these cows from the roads. As a result, commuters are forced to manoeuvre their vehicles through the corners of the road,” said Kulbir Singh, a resident of Sri Krishna Nagar.

Officials of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), however, claim that they catch stray cows in an effort to restrict their movement on the streets.

“We catch the cows found roaming on the roads regularly. On an average, two to three cows are caught every week from different parts of the city. We treat confiscated cows as stray cattle. Anyone who claims such an animal has to pay a fine of Rs 2,000,” said Shashank Shekhar Sharma, executive officer, New Capital circle of the PMC.

“If at all, no one claims these animals within a week, then we auction and sell them,” he added. Police also claim that they are active in catching stray cows.

“There was a huge issue of stray cows disturbing traffic on BN Rai Street. We cleared a number of cowsheds in the nearby localities after a writ was filed in Patna High Court. We have made many arrests and imposed heavy fines on offenders. The situation has improved drastically in the area. The offenders are charged under Section 79 of Bihar Police Act. The confiscated stray cows are handed over to PMC,” said the officer in-charge of Kadamkuan police station.

The consequences residents have had to face because of cows on the roads, however, tell a different tale.

“These cows are a big bane when one is riding a two-wheeler. Once, I was riding my bike at night and suddenly I saw a cow sitting on the middle of Nala Road. By the time I applied the brakes I had hit the animal. As a result, I suffered cuts and bruise,” said Saurav Kumar, a resident of Kadamkuan.

He added: “Another time, my father, while riding a scooter, hit a cow on the road. His leg was fractured in the accident.”