Mohali: In a disturbing incident highlighting the hazards of unregulated waste dumping, three cows died after reportedly consuming poisonous waste or polythene from a garbage dump along the Kharar-Chandigarh highway at Balongi on Sunday morning.The cows were grazing at the dump when they accidentally ingested a large quantity of polythene or a toxic substance suspected to have been discarded with household or industrial waste. One of them collapsed on a dog lying nearby, killing it too. Deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi rushed to the location and expressed serious concern over the incident. “Though this area does not fall under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation, I have directed staff to remove the carcasses and conduct postmortem to determine the exact cause of death,” he said.Bedi also warned residents against releasing their milch animals to graze in the day to milk them in the evening. “What good is such an earning that comes at the cost of innocent lives?” he questioned, urging residents to stop abandoning their animals or dumping garbage irresponsibly.Eyewitnesses Rajinder Singh and Kamaldeep Singh, transporters, said, “At 7 am, we saw one cow lying dead. When we passed by again two hours later, three cows and a dog were found dead,” they said, adding that those who dump waste at the site often argue with anyone who tries to intervene.Pawan Kumar, owner of a resort nearby, also voiced concern. He said that despite regular clean-up efforts using a JCB machine every 10 to 15 days, garbage piled up unchecked. “This is clearly the administration’s responsibility, and there must be action,” he said.The deputy mayor also urged the deputy commissioner to step in and enforce the ban on waste dumping at the site, taking strict action against negligent animal owners and garbage dumpers.MSID:: 122797876 413 |
