JMC shrugs off duty: Distt admn forced to tackle stray cattle menace

 

 

It is both astonishing and deeply concerning that a responsibility as crucial as ensuring public safety and civic order, which rightly belongs to the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) is now being handled by the district administration. What should be the core duty of the civic body is being shouldered instead by the Government and district administration, raising serious questions about the functioning and priorities of the Municipal Corporation. Despite Jabalpur’s recent recognition among the top five cleanest cities under the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, the reality on the ground tells a troubling story. Stray cattle roam the city roads unchecked, causing traffic chaos, increasing accident risks and severely undermining public hygiene.

 

The city’s ‘clean’ image, it appears, is beginning to crack under the weight of Municipal Corporation’s negligence. In a move that should have taken from the Municipal Corporation side, the district administration was once again compelled to appeal to cattle owners not to leave their animals loose on the roads. The administration warned that stray cattle, especially during night-time are a serious accident hazard and traffic threat. Any cattle found wandering or sitting on roads will now be relocated to gaushalas (shelters) in the interest of public safety. Ironically, the very task of capturing and sheltering stray animals falls completely under the JMC’s jurisdiction. The Municipal Corporation already has a special task force the ‘Hanka Gang’, specifically formed to control stray cattle menace. However, despite having all required machines and map power, no special drives have been initiated and stray cattle continue to run rampant across city roads.

 

The so-called Hanka Gang has increasingly become symbolic. Herds of cattle are regularly seen in commercial markets, residential areas and main thoroughfares, feeding on garbage and disrupting daily life. The silence of the JMC administration and ruling party members in civic body is surprising. Despite citizens complaints, media reports and rising anger from the public, public representatives appear indifferent. The consequences of neglect are now visible across the city, increased road accidents, deteriorating public hygiene and rising ire among residents. This is high time the Municipal Corporation urgently changes its approach towards the serious issue and take needed action on the ground. Or else the city’s much-celebrated ‘clean’ status will remain a hollow label. The public deserves answers, not excuses.