Punjab Outlook

Amritsar—The youth of the motorcycle club ‘Ambarsariye Rides’ met the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the district Mrs. Sakshi Sahni and demanded to take immediate effective steps to prevent the frequent road accidents and deaths caused by stray animals.
Club members Amandeep Singh Walia, Harpreet Singh Ahluwalia, Director Parvinder Singh, Tarandeep Singh Dua, Vicky Fatiabad and Sahib Singh submitted a demand letter saying that recently young singer and bike rider Rajveer Jawanda died painfully due to collision with a stray animal on the road.
He said that due to the increasing number of stray animals in many cities and villages of Punjab, road accidents are happening daily, in which many people lose their lives or get seriously injured. These accidents are not only human tragedies but also expose the failure of road safety system and local administration.
Club members suggested that special teams be deployed at every city and village level to control the number of stray animals. Wherever accidents occur due to stray animals, the responsibility of the concerned authorities should be fixed. He demanded that cowsheds should be built and expanded at the government level in every district, where these animals can be kept safe. Village level panchayats should also be encouraged to build gaushalas.
He said that the ‘cow-se’ (cow tax) being taken from the public should be used only and only for the construction and maintenance of cow sheds. The youth expressed the hope that the government will understand this serious problem and take immediate action so that no other family has to suffer such pain.
In a conversation with journalists, Amandeep Singh Walia said that innumerable road accidents are happening due to the neglect of stray animals. Expressing deep grief over the death of singer and artist Rajveer Jawanda, he said that this incident is the result of the failure of the government and administration.
He said that the number of stray cows and bulls has increased rapidly in the cities and villages of Punjab since last many years, due to which the roads have turned into death traps. Every day, farmers, laborers, children and the elderly are being injured or killed by these animals, while the administration only talks about building “cow shelters” on paper — where there is no provision of food, no security, and no responsible management.
He said that every state government is collecting tax on petrol-diesel, business transactions and other services in the name of ‘Gau Shaish’ (cow tax). The purpose of this amount was to arrange care, safe shelter and removal of homeless animals from the streets, but in reality this money is neither spent on welfare of animals nor seen in any concrete project. In most districts, crores of rupees of “Gau Shaish” are either lying in accounts or buried in files.
He said that this case is not only administrative negligence but also a sign of absence of responsibility. Unless a special task force is formed to ensure proper functioning of cow sheds, regular monitoring and removal of animals from roads, such deaths will continue.