Eleven cattle were run over by two speeding fish-laden vehicles on the NH66 highway, leaving them dead on the road. Earlier this month, 6 buffaloes were killed by speeding heavy vehicles along the Manohar Parrikar Canacona Bypass Road. In July, a truck ran over 13 cattle lying on the road near the petrol pump at Gulem, killing 11 and injuring two others. While cattle being run over and left lifeless on the roads stirs emotion of sorrow, it also exposes a disturbing pattern of negligence and lack of accountability, and a persistent failure in road safety and animal management policies.
The issue is not just about cattle deaths; there are also grave risks to motorists. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant mentioned that an astounding 25 per cent of the road deaths in the State are due to cattle. While the road tragedies and shortcomings are as clear as daylight, the system continues to be unresponsive, except for the fact that police have intercepted vehicles and arrested drivers.
Arresting drivers is not going to help resolve the situation if the root causes are not addressed. Authorities will have to look beyond, possibly taking a more serious view of cattle management. At the core of this tragedy lies the failure of local authorities and law enforcement agencies in upholding their bounden duty of safeguarding both human lives and animal welfare. Cattle left squatting on roads is a sign of night patrol failure. These are signs of systemic lapses within enforcement and their operational protocols.
The recurring nature of such incidents, not only in Canacona but along several parts of highways, highlights the systemic failure in managing stray animals. Lest we forget, there have been lengthy legislative debates emphasizing on the hazards posed by stray cattle, especially during night hours when visibility is limited and street lights are erratic.
The rise in cases reflects a failure of schemes like the Goa Stray Cattle Management Scheme. The government’s proposals — such as creating more goshalas, increasing financial support for NGOs, and involving local panchayats — are steps in the right direction. However, these measures are yet to translate into tangible results because there is no coordinated and accountable approach.
One must understand that this is a collective responsibility, and no single authority would be able to address it alone. Road safety and animal welfare are two aspects of these collective responsibilities. While policing needs to be pro-active on the roads, there have to be stringent penalties on negligent cattle owners, to the extent of even disqualifying them from schemes, because a lack of accountability fosters a culture of complacency.
It’s time to move beyond mere rhetoric and piecemeal approaches. The government’s idea to involve NGOs and youth groups is promising, but requires robust implementation and oversight. Goa needs a comprehensive, policy-driven formula that encompasses more goshalas with adequate facilities, strengthening the legal framework, and deploying technology such as surveillance cameras and cattle detection systems to monitor vulnerable zones effectively, although this may be asking too much given the reluctance of the government to install CCTVs for traffic violations.
Cattle intrusion on roads is a common sight and has been ignored despite the high fatality and risks to human life. The Canacona case is a reminder that the threat to life continues to be ignored. The government must intervene urgently because these are preventable tragedies.
