Bhubaneswar, June 11: The proverbial cow jumped over the moon, but on several busy roads, cars need to emulate the bovine feat.

Traffic speed in the city has been cowed down by a scattered herd of four-legged mammals that nonchalantly chew their cud while reclining bang in the middle of busy thoroughfares.

Try to shoo them away, and it takes ages for them to disdainfully move about an inch. It’s enough to make commuters moan in despair.

Disturbed by the growing menace of stray cattle on the streets, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to take up the issue with the state housing and urban development department. The corporation has requested the department to increase the penalty on those who carelessly leave their cows and buffaloes to “graze” on the streets.

“Monsoon is here. Cattle owners will leave their cows and buffaloes to graze on the streets as foliage grows readily this season. By increasing the penalty, we can discourage them from doing so,” said municipal commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra.

He added: “I have taken up the matter with the government for early approval of our proposal.”

“The civic body proposes to crack the whip on the irresponsible cattle owners by raising the fine from the present Rs 100 to Rs 500 for a one-time offence,” said a senior corporation official.

Stray cattle are picked up from the streets and lodged in the corporation-run kine house at Kharavela Nagar. Apart from the penalty, the owners are also required to pay Rs 50 a day for their stay there.

The corporation is impressed with the way Surat has battled cattle.

“The Surat Municipal Corporation collected a revenue of Rs 35 lakh in 2011-12 just from fines through its kine houses. It collects Rs 1,500 from each cow owner as penalty,” said a senior corporation official.

Not just the roads in the interior areas of Rasulgarh, Laxmisagar and VSS Nagar, even the busiest thoroughfares in the city are often overrun by the bovine creatures. Commuters are the not the only ones to be struck by the cattle menace. Traffic police too are straining to deal with the problem.

“Around 30 accidents take place every month due to stray cattle,” said an official of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police.

The civic body has a small kine house for 35 cattle. A seven-member team from the corporation is responsible for capturing the animals. The number of employees and the accommodation capacity of the kine house seem inadequate.

The corporation proposes to set up a two-acre modern kine house on the outskirts of the city. It would be able to accommodate about 150 animals. BMC has asked the general administration department for the plot, but the process is stuck in red tape.

Do you think the proposal to hike penalty will check the menace caused by stray cattle? Tell ttorissa@abp.in