Bow wow! Absence of neutering gives rise to stray dog menace
Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 10
No doubt, stray dogs have long been a menace for many. Ever wondered what could be the root cause of the problem? Well, the first thing that springs to mind is the lack of dog sterilisation and the absence of sterilisation infrastructure is next in the line. Neutering can draw flak from dog lovers, but the problem is there are 40,000 of them roaming various roads and streets, posing a threat to public. This is a case in the city that needs immediate attention.
There has been a massive increase in the number of stray dogs in the recent times. The Municipal Corporation (MC) made four attempts to initiate the sterilisation drive in the last four years but could never succeed due to the lack of proper infrastructure. “The authorities concerned have failed to control the dog menace in the city. The MC should speed up the sterilisation drive,” says Sandip Singh, a resident.
The dwellers of the walled city area claimed that streets are run over by aggressive dogs that would follow and bark at passersby every now and then. Not only walled city people, the residents in outer areas too are staring at the same problem. The dog bite cases are also becoming more frequent and residents often complained to the MC in this regard. However, the MC seems helpless on the complaints as they don’t have any solution to control the canines.
“Several dogs can be seen on the roads and in the streets posing a threat and even risking accidents as they hinder the traffic. It is not that authorities have not made an effort to curb the problem, but nothing as such has changed at the ground level”, says Shivani, a resident of the Kashmir Avenue.
Nevertheless, there is a beacon of hope for the residents for a special animal birth control center building is under construction at Naraingarh.
Dr Yogesh Arora said, “As many as 50 dogs are being sterilised in a week with the help of an NGO. Animal Welfare Trust provided space for the sterilisation. We will complete the pilot project till November by neutering 2,000 dogs. Meanwhile, the building for animal birth control center would be completed and the project would be operational properly”.
Two years back in December 2018, taking note of the stray dog menace, the MC had given a signal for sterilisation in its general house meeting. Health Wing of MC had initiated the pilot project for sterilization of 2,000 canines but couldn’t succeed due to insufficient infrastructure. The MC failed to provide the operation theater, cages and a building for aftercare to firm hired for sterilisation. Such campaigns have been started in the past but have failed miserably owing to shortage of funds and a proper structure.
