Citizen Connect: Goats feeding on garbage strewn on streets affects traffic in Choolaimedu, say residents

Delay in garbage removal from Choolaimedu streets has been attracting cattle, affecting traffic, claim motorists and residents.

“For the last few months, people have been letting their goats forage on the streets and the animals get attracted to garbage. How can we drive if 10-15 goats keep straying on the streets?” M Vishnu, a resident of Sriramapuram in Choolaimedu said.

He added that the problem is worse on Athreyapuram Main Road where garbage bins are available attwo spots.

When DT Next visited the spot, several goats were seen eating food waste strewn around the garbage bins. The bins were overflowing till around 11 am and a few conservancy workers were spotted in closeto the bins.

“There might be an understanding between the conservancy workers and the goat owners. The workers delay cleaning the spot and wait until the goats are done feeding,” a resident said.

The residents also pointed out that the trend started with one goat owners and the rest followed. “The Corporation and the police should take action against the such cattle owners and warn them against letting stray goats out,” the resident added.

Pointing out to another problem in the area, residents said that conservancy workers, who collect waste from door-to-door, have been dumping it into the garbage bins. As per the Chennai Corporation rules, waste collected from the houses should be transported to nearest micro composting centres and resource recovery centres.

“Due to this, the source segregation in the area is affected and the garbage bins are overflowing. The conservancy inspectors and supervisors should ensure the waste collected from houses goes to recycling facilities,” M Kumaran, a resident said.

Commenting on this, a Chennai Corporation official said that they have orders only to impound stray cows and penalise the owners. “However, there is no order or direction given to capture goats. If we impound such goats, we cannot penalise the owners,” he added.

The official, however, assured that the menace would be controlled with the help of the local police.