A stray calf loitering in the twilight hours on the national highway at Azara hit a motorist. The sound of motorist falling brought the people from the nearby shops and stalls rush to the spot to help him.
The man taken to nearby tea stall and was given water to drink. The people observed that the person suffered minor injury.
“Since it was late evening the visibility was very poor so I could not see the calf,” said Raju Paul the accident victim while drinking a glass of water.
The injured motorist stated that he was going towards Jalukbari near Guwahati University for an urgent work and unexpectedly the calf hit the bike while crossing the road.
One of the onlookers recalled that another accident had occurred last year at the same spot causing the death of a college student.
“For the safety of the travelers and to avoid such mishaps the stray animals are to be kept in the pound,” said a bystander insisting that Panchayat authority should take preventive measure.
“These sorts of accident are common phenomena on Azara road. The authorities need to take serious action to avoid such accidents,” he insisted.
“The stray cattle menace is a common occurrence between Jalukbari and VIP stretch of NH34 and accidents take place very often,” says Sub Inspector of Police (Traffic) Balen Ramchiary.
He recalls, “earlier the municipality used to clear the stray cattle from the high way and used to keep them in the pound and release the cattle with fine. Now the practice is discontinued causing a lot of hazards on the road.”
He further revealed, “the municipality sprung into action during Prime Minister’s visit last December.”
When contacted, the Panchayath president Prabin Medhi shifted the responsibility to the police saying, “contact the thana” (Police station).
Ramchiary insists, “The owners of the cows are responsible if such accidents take place on the highway. Even a case can be filed against the owners if found guilty.”
“We like to help the victim but we are scared thinking of the harassment of the police,” says an onlooker.
Responding to this allegation Ramchiary says, “there is nothing to worry about what the police would do with you. Police are ready to help and are expected to attend to the accident victim in the hospital.”
He assures, “in case the victim dies on the way to the hospital the ‘Good Samaritan’ is not put into trouble.”
“Most of the time students are the ones who meet with road accidents as they ride full throttle,” says the Officer stating that working people normally go at a safe speed of 40 km/hr.
“During my 7 months in office at Azara Police Station, there have been several cases of accidents caused by the stray cattle. Even when cattle die on the road there is none to remove the carcass,” laments Ramchiary.
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In deed, stray cattle are a
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