Radium strips tied to cows to curb mishaps in Dholpur

JAIPUR/ ALWAR: In order to bring down the number of accidents caused by cattle wandering on highways, Dholpur police has launched an initiative to attach radium strips around the neck of bovines so that they can be identified even in the dark, thus curbing casualties.
Dholpur SP Rajesh Singh told TOI that 12 police teams from different police stations have tied green radium strips around the neck of over 250 cows on Agra-Gwalior highway, Dholpur-Badi and Saipau area of the city.
"Over 60 policemen from four police stations embarked on the mission on Tuesday morning, and have tied those radium strips around the necks of the cattle. Overwhelming number of villagers also came out to help the police," Singh added.
The drive started at 9 am, with 12 police teams taking up the task of tying green strips around their necks.
According to Chandra Prakash, SHO, Sadar police station, several cattle have died in the span of last five months after they were run over by speeding vehicles. "Everyday there are approximately 2-3 accidents caused by straying cattle on the road, motorists are compelled to swerve their vehicles which result in mishaps," Prakash said.
Police officials added that the menace of stray cattle on Agra-Gwalior highway is on the rise. "A few days ago, two persons died and three were severely injured after a car overturned when two cattle wandered on the road. In order to avoid collision, the driver made a hasty turn that resulted in overturning of the car," police said.
Tuesday was the first day of the drive launched by district police. Other police stations will also take part in the drive soon.
A police official further said that there are several cows in the district who wander on streets during night. "There have been incidents where a bus would overturn, two vehicles would ram into each other, or a bike would hit a maiden in order to avoid the crash with cattle. We thought that the only way to deal with the nuisance is to alarm the motorists," the official added.