While loitering cows cause traffic jams, pigeons cause respiratory ailments; authorities look the other way to avoid hurting religious sentiments
Despite numerous complaints, the narrow lanes leading to Khar station continue to have massive presence of cows causing inconvenience to the locals. The residents claim that the roads are frequently littered with cow dung and the flies hovering over it make it an uneasy sight for them.
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The bovines litter and also cause traffic congestion outside the station. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar and Prabhanjan Dhanu
The BMC said that not much could be done about the issue, as it is associated with ‘religious sentiments’, which they don’t want to hurt. However, they are planning to form a waste management team to look after the cleanliness of the area.
Deyasini Choudhury, Khar ALM member
“We have decided to take this issue up as a part of Swachh Bharat mission,” said Deputy Mayor of BMC Alka Kerkar, who is also the corporator of H Ward, adding that if people stop feeding the cows, the issue can be curbed.
Anandini Thakur, secretary H West Ward Citizen Trust
“The owners hire the cows to different temples and the temple authorities in turn pay people for the grass that is used to feed these cows. It’s a business,” confirmed 86-year-old Anandini Thakur, a resident of Khar since 1959.
Thakur, also the Managing Trustee, Khar Residents Association and Secretary of H Ward (W) Citizens’ Trust said that apart from the cow dung problem, the presence of a kabootar khana adds to the menace.
“It is in the centre of the road and causes a lot of traffic congestion. I presume people also suffer from chest diseases because of the pigeon feathers, droppings and dust caused by the grains,” said Thakur.
This is a religious issue because the cows and the pigeons are looked after by different communities and so nothing concrete has come out in the ALM meetings that have been held numerous times.
“The cows defecate wherever they stand making the area stinky and a complete mess. We have taken up the issue with the authorities but the problem is the religious issue,” said Deyasini Choudhary, part of the Khar ALM.
‘The roads are cleaned’
“I always ensure that the roads are cleaned up after we finish feeding and milking the cows,” said one of the owners of the animals, who is also a part of Gau Rakshak dal, a vigilante group which claims to save cows. When mid-day reached the spot to click pictures, the cow owners posed an opposition claiming that there is nothing wrong in the cows being stabled on road.
“We give the cows to the temples free of cost,” he said clarifying that there is no business relationship between them and the temples.
The temple authorities do not claim any responsibility for the traffic jams caused by the bovines. “Sometimes there is traffic only because people pray from their cars stopping near the temples. We have nothing to do with the cows that are tied nearby,” said Bhai Gurudev Jhende, temple trustee of Maruti Ghanteshwar Temple, in Khar West.
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