Palghar stray cattle drive| September 3, 2026
Palghar district authorities will begin a drive against stray and abandoned cattle on roads after September 7, citing repeated accidents on national highways and internal roads. The Zilla Parishad has planned the operation with the Animal Husbandry Department, police, local authorities, gaushalas and voluntary organisations.
The action will focus on cattle found along the Talasari-Achhad stretch of the national highway, the Dahanu-Charoti and Boisar-Chilhar routes, and the Palghar-Mahim corridor. Officials said herds sitting or moving on roads have contributed to several two-wheeler and four-wheeler crashes. The incidents have caused injuries to cattle, deaths of motorists and injuries to other road users, according to the report.
The district plans to capture the cattle and move them to gaushalas in Palghar district and outside the district. Locations identified for possible relocation include Palghar, Boisar, Achhad, Vapi and other places in the state. The Zilla Parishad said the operation would be carried out with veterinary officials, police personnel and voluntary organisations.
The decision followed a meeting organised by Palghar Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Manoj Ranade to discuss accidents, particularly in the Dahanu area, where the number of crashes in recent months was described as significant. Representatives of gaushalas from Thane, Mumbai and Palghar, cow-protection groups, and Animal Husbandry Department officials attended the meeting.
Officials also discussed measures for cattle injured in road accidents. Veterinary medical officers were instructed to ensure prompt treatment for injured animals. Earlier efforts had included applying reflective material to the horns of cattle in some parts of the district so that they could be seen more easily at night. Despite that initiative, accidents have continued on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway and on internal roads, the report said.
The meeting also raised concerns about the financial support available to gaushalas. The government grant for the upkeep of cows aged over two years was described as inadequate at Rs 50 per animal. Participants proposed extending the grant to all cattle housed in gaushalas, including calves below two years, and sought government and corporate social responsibility funding for sheds and cattle conservation on grazing land.
The Zilla Parishad said it had allocated Rs 40 lakh to provide a subsidy of Rs 40,000 per animal to support an increase in the district’s cattle population. Other proposals discussed included establishing gaushalas on available grazing land, developing commercial biogas-manure projects, requiring vehicles transporting cattle to use a specified colour, and building veterinary dispensaries and animal hospitals for accident-injured cattle.
The authorities have appealed to cattle owners to keep their animals tied in their sheds or otherwise prevent them from entering public roads. The Zilla Parishad has warned owners to remain alert ahead of the planned operation and said stray and abandoned cattle would be captured and shifted during the drive scheduled for the coming week.
