Agra: Residents on Monday staged a protest at the Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) head office against the menace of stray animals, especially cows and buffaloes. The protesters, who gathered under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), alleged inaction on the part of the civic body officials to check the movement of stray animals. They said unrestricted movement of the strays posed a danger to common people’s lives and caused accidents by disrupting traffic.The agitators reached the spot at 11 am but were unable to find a senior official to discuss matters with. After waiting for an hour, the agitators left a memorandum of their main demands on the chair of the municipal commissioner. Later, chief engineer Tarun Sharma turned up and lent a ear to the protesters’ demands, assuring them of suitable action.ABGP district president Murarilal Goyal said, “Stray animals, including cows, bulls, dogs, pigs and donkeys roam around on the city roads unchecked, causing accidents daily. More than a dozen people have been badly injured in the last one month by stray bovines. Cases of dog and monkey bites are constantly on the rise. Cows and buffaloes can be seen wallowing in Yamuna. Stray animals on the road cause traffic congestion. The civic body is not taking proper action in this regard. We have asked the administration to run a city-wide mega campaign to rid our roads of stray animals. If this is not done in time, we will be forced to hit the road”.In 2016, UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan had mandated administrations of all districts and civic bodies to ensure that stray animals were taken away from city limits. Ranjan had ordered strict action against cattle owners who left their animals roaming about in the roads. The state government’s orders in the matter came following the Allahabad high court’s ruling in the matter.

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