Stay cattle blocking roads in Bhubaneswar is a common phenomenon. This causes traffic bottlenecks and accidents. Sandeep Mishra looks into the reasons behind the problem and possible solutions

Old Town

Encroachment of roads by cattle is a big problem here because the roads are not very wide. 
These are not stray cattle. They have their owners who release the cattle on the road. This should be checked
Laxmikanth TripathyBheematangi residentI faced a minor accident on Lewis Road last month due to the unpredictable 
movement of cattle. The civic body should do something about this

Chinmay Pati
Kapila Prasad resident

Patia & Nandankanan

The main road here is a busy one not only because this an alternative route for people heading to Cuttack, but also 
due to the presence of the popular zoo. Consequently, the presence of wandering cattle on the stretch hinders traffic.

This creates a very bad impression on visitors, especially after Bhubaneswar being chosen as the first city to be 
transformed into a smart one. It shows the administration has no control over these animals. The civic body should penalise the owners of these animals 
Pradip Jena Barang resident

Gothapatna, Sampur & Kalinga Nagar

People passing through these areas are used to herding cattle away from the road to make their way.Under no circumstances can we speed up even if there is an emergency because that will definitely end in an accident involving stray cattle
Sumit Mishra Gothapatna resident

Why the problem

The problem can be dealt with if the city has a large kine house. The corporation has been sitting on such a project at Jamukoili in Khurda. The new facility would be able to accommodate 500 animals. The corporation has five vehicles to catch stray cattle and imposes fines up to Rs 100 on those who leave their bovine stock unattended in public places. However, one kine house now exists at Kharavela Nagar with a capacity to accommodate only 10 cattle.

Officialspeak

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said his officials were catching the animals and fining violators frequently. He admitted that the number of stray animals was increasing they the corporation did not have enough space to accommodate them. He said: “We will transport the stray cattle to a new place at Jamukoli in Khurda. We have already earmarked five acres for the purpose and have nearly finished building the new kine house. It will start functioning in a month or two.”