Councillors’ blame game, ‘shayari’ mar civic body meeting

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 31

While city residents are at the receiving end of the stray dog menace, councillors' blame game, political drama and "shayari" over the issue marred the MC House meeting today. First it was BJP Leader of the Opposition Arun Sood, who targeted Mayor Poonam Sharma for unnecessarily dragging Union Minister Maneka Gandhi into the stray dog menace issue in the city. Sood said instead of making efforts to restart the stray dog sterilisation drive, the Mayor had started levelling allegations against Maneka Gandhi.

Sood said was Maneka responsible for stopping the sterilisation drive in the city or had she come in the way of opening more dispensaries to deal with stray dog bite cases?

On the Mayor’s recent visit to houses of dog bite victims in Mani Majra, Sood said, “Hum intezar karenge tera kayamat tak, khuda kare ke kayamat ho aur tu aaye."

The Mayor levelled counter-allegations against Maneka and city BJP MP Kirron Kher. She said NGOs only hampered work and she would continue to raise her voice against such NGOs.

On Kirron Kher, she said why MP not visited houses of stray dog bite victims, including children, houses.

On Kher, the Mayor said, “Khuda kare ke kayamat ho aur tu aaye”. On Kher’s absence, she said, “Main idhar jaun, udhar jaun, badi mushkil mein hu ki kidhar jaun”. Nominated councillor Amrit Tewari suggested that anesthetic guns should be used for carrying out the sterilisation drive. It was rejected by the MC Commissioner stating that it was against the rules.

BJP councillor Satinder Singh said the MC lacked political will to carry out the sterilisation drive. He suggested that the MC should rope in astrologers, who often advised people to feed stray dogs. The MC should convince them to advise people to adopt stray dogs, he suggested. MC Commissioner Vivek Partap Singh said the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules-2001 prescribed a ban on killing stray dogs, even ferocious ones. The MC’s work was to carry out sterilisation task, which the civic body would start along with the Maharashtra-based SPCA, from April 6.

Collars for sterilised dogs

The MC on Tuesday resolved to put collars around the necks of dogs that have been sterilised. Besides, the MC would make group of 2-3 sectors for the sterilisation drive.