Authorities fail to shift milch animals from Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi

Despite much hue and cry, assurances and promises, the authorities of the City District Government and the civic body, Potohar Town for the last four years have failed to resolve minor issues like removal of cattle from the city areas to far-flung areas as a result of which unhygienic condition prevails largely in every union council and parts of tehsils where milch animals exist.

It merits to mention here that on the special directives of then DCO, the Administrator of the Town Municipal of Potohar Town ordered shifting of all cattle from the prohibitive zones of Rawalpindi within next 60 days failing which the administration would take severe action against the owners as well as butchers which include confiscation of their animals.

The order for shifting/removal of cattle was issued through a notification dated 31.12.15.

The orders have been issued in view of the increased risk to public health due to a large number of dengue patients reported from the union councils including Dhoke Munshi (UC) 79, Rehmatabad (UC 80) and Chaklala (UC-78) falling within the territorial jurisdiction of TMA Potohar Town. Besides other, these three union councils have been declared as prohibitive zones for keeping cattle under provisions of the schedule six to the Punjab local government ordinance 2001, except for the purposes that the cattle kept bona fide for sacrificial purpose, kept for drawing carts or use in mills, with the permission of the local government and subject to such conditions as it may impose. Cattle under treatment in any veterinary hospital, brought to a cattle market and brought to a slaughterhouse or kept by butchers for the purpose of slaughtering within the areas demarcated by the local government are exempted by the orders.

According to the notification all cattle being kept within the limits of the union councils as mentioned above has to be removed/shifted out of the prohibitive zones within 60 days of publication of this notice. After this period legal action shall be taken against any violators including owners and butchers. Similarly, any cattle found to be present within the limits of prohibitive zones shall be compulsorily removed and shifted by the administration.

Though six months have elapsed, neither the cattle pen owners have shifted their animals from the union councils nor the heads of Town Municipal, Potohar Town, have taken any action against them for violating the orders.

Commenting on the issue, Haji Waqar Hussain Dar, Chairman of UC-77, Faisal Colony also denounced the failure of the concerned officials of Town Municipal , Potohar Town for getting the milch animals shifted from Rawalpindi city areas including Union Councils.

Haji Waqar said that because of complaints, failure of related civic body, and occurrence of unhygienic conditions prevailing in UCs, he brought the matter into the notice of Ch. Nisar Ali Khan, Federal Minister for Interior, who assured to get the problem resolved through officials of the civic body of Potohar Town.

Haji Waqar was hopeful that due to interest and commitment of the interior minister, the longstanding problem of shifting of cattle from Rawalpindi Union Councils would be resolved very soon. However, the chairman failed to give any exact period for resolution of this longstanding problem which is wrecking the nerves of the citizens because of unhygienic atmosphere and eruption of harmful diseases in their union councils.