Vellore Corporation to pay fee for stray cattle upkeep at Central Prison: Mayor
Vellore Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar and Corporation Commissioner P. Janaki Raveendran at the council meeting of Vellore Corporation that was held in the town on Friday.
The Vellore Corporation is planning to pay a nominal fee to the Department of Prisons for recurring expenses that would occur in maintaining stray cattle impounded by the civic body at the goshala inside the Vellore Central Prison, said Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar at the council meeting held here on Friday.
Ms. Sujatha, who chaired the meeting, was responding to councillor S. Saravanan of Ward 55 on stray cattle and dog menace in the town in recent months. She said that lack of adequate open land within Corporation limits has been a major challenge in maintaining the stray cattle impounded by civic officials from key intersections and busy stretches in the town over the past few months. “We had a meeting with cattle owners in the town and explained the risk to lives in leaving cattle open on the streets and roads,” she said.
She said prison authorities cite recurring expenditure like feed costs and other expenses. The civic body is planning to pay a nominal fee, which is part of the fine collected from cattle owners, to maintain stray cattle.
She added that affected cattle owners sought a passage across Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44), which is maintained by NHAI, to take their cattle for grazing along Palar river from Old Town. As the idea was ruled out due to procedural constraints, she said the Corporation is in talks with prison authorities to maintain impounded stray cattle at the goshala within the prison complex.
At present, the Central Prison has 28 cows in its goshala, mainly for milk supply. Every day, on an average, 10-20 stray cattle are impounded by the civic body with ₹1,000 collected as fine for each animal.
Most of the councillors also highlighted the official apathy in addressing residents complaints on basic amenities like irregular water supply, pumpset of borewell repairs, incomplete underground sewage system and bad roads.
“The existing OHT (overhead tank) in Salavanpet area does not have a proper concrete lid, causing residents to dump waste into it. A lid and fencing should be provided to protect it from anti-socials, who loiter there. The small bus service from Shenbakkam should be extended to our ward also,” said K. Ganga, transgender councilor of Ward 37.
Corporation Commissioner P. Janaki Raveendran said that efforts have been taken to supply water to tail-end areas on Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi through the newly built OHT. Water pipelines, which supplies water to the civic body, are being tested by Tamilnadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).
The 3-hour-long council meeting held in the presence of Vellore MLA, P. Karthikeyan, passed a resolution for 133 works that would be taken up in all its four zones, covering 60 wards, at a cost of ₹110 crore.
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