Minister says most fatalities were reported in 2021
PANAJI
Cattle and domestic animals straying on Goa’s roads have claimed the lives of 13 people in 73 motor vehicle accidents recorded as being caused by this menace over the last five years.
Between 2019 and until May of this year, police statistics show that 73 accidents occurred in Goa due to cattle straying onto the roads.
In these 73 mishaps, 13 human lives were lost and 19 animals too were killed.
According to Animal Husbandry Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar, the most road mishap fatalities on account of stray animals on the roads were reported in 2021. Five persons and six animals were killed in that year, Halarnkar told the Goa legislative assembly. In his response to an unstarred question posed by St Cruz MLA Rudolph Fernandes, Halarnkar said the information was supplied to his department by the Goa Police.
In 2020, four people and six animals fell victim to accidents due to cattle straying on the roads and a year earlier in 2019, two persons and three animals were killed in 17 accidents.
Last year, one person died in 11 accidents and until May this year, there have been six accidents but no fatalities reported, either human or animal.
The police force had informed the Animal Husbandry Department about the location of stray cattle across the State. The Traffic Police Department had reported that stray cattle were roaming on the roads at 55 places in North Goa and 91 places in South Goa. According to this information, in the Ponda traffic area, the maximum number of cattle sit on the road is at 38 places. There are 22 in Vasco, 20 in Anjuna, 13 in Canacona, 9 in Panaji, 6 each in Mapusa and Porvorim and 5 in Pernem.
In this regard, North Goa Traffic Police Superintendent Rahul Gupta had written a letter to the Animal Husbandry Department on 30th May 2024 requesting them to catch the stray cattle sitting at this place. The letter said that due to stray cattle, the roads in the State have become death traps and action must be taken against this. It is also mentioned in the letter that the drivers are causing accidents while trying to avoid such animals.
Apart from this, Panaji Municipal Corporation along with other 14 municipalities of the State have planned various measures for stray cattle in their areas.
Maximum 22 accidents in 2022
During the period 2019 to June 2024, the State recorded the highest number of 22 accidents due to stray animals in 2022. One person died in this. The answer says that 4 animals have died.
