CALANGUTE: The Calangute panchayat has taken a decision to conduct a drive every fortnight to keep a check and impound all stray cattle loitering on the roads.
A meeting on the issue of tackling the stray cattle menace was held at the Calangute panchayat recently. The meeting was attended by Calangute sarpanch Anthony Menezes, panchayat members, a doctor from the animal husbandry and veterinary department, farmers who domesticate cattle and Calangute residents.
During the meeting, a panchayat member suggested to the farmers that they will come up with a system of inserting microchips on livestock wherein they will be able to keep a check on their whereabouts which will help to catch them in case they are found loitering on the road.
The panchayat also promised the farmers that they will identify a temporary location where the stray cattle could be sheltered.
Speaking at the meeting, a local resident Neville Proenca said that as Calangute is a tourist village, the stray cattle feed on the garbage littered on the beach. Another resident urged farmers and residents to identify stray cattle and immediately report them to the panchayat.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the sarpanch said that Calangute will be the first village panchayat to get rid of the stray cattle. He also said that they are also in the process of identifying around 60,000 sqm of land to set up a cattle pound where the animals could be sheltered and provided with fodder.