Dog sterilisation project in limbo, residents affected
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, November 30
The stray dog menace is increasing day by day in the city and this can be gauged from the fact that gangs of dogs can be seen roaming in every locality of the city.
However, the district administration has failed to control the canine population as the sterilisation project of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) is lying in limbo. The Municipal Corporation has approved Rs 25 lakh for sterilization of 3,000 dogs in the city, but work on the ground has not started till date.
As per the scheme, dogs were to be caught, operated upon, fed and then released after due medical care and a proper diet to them. The cost of procedure per dog would cost around Rs 690.
Under a policy framed by the state government in 2013, based on the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, it was made mandatory for every district to ensure sterilisation of stray dogs. However, its implementation has left a lot to be desired.
Apart from this, even the MC had planned to construct a dog shelter, which has also failed to take off due to paucity of funds.
Even stray dogs have bitten the Mayor, the Senior Superintendent of Police and many others. Despite this, the administration has failed to come up with a special policy to tackle this growing menace in the city.
A doctor at the Civil Hospital said, “The stray dog menace is on the rise these days as two dog-bite cases, on an average, are being reported every day at the hospital.”
Health experts say some of these cases are not reported in hospitals, so, the actual number is much higher.
It is pertinent to mention that last year, the government had stated in the Assembly that around 38,000 children were bitten by dogs in the state in the past two years. In rural areas alone, more than 36,000 people were attacked by stray canines during the same period.
The number of dog-bite cases has increased three-fold in the past three years. According to the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP), around 54,000 cases were reported in Punjab last year.
Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal confirmed that sterilization is not going on at present as the Aligarh-based company, which was doing this work, has gone back due to some reason. He said they had funds of this project and even approved Rs 25 lakh, but don’t know why company backed out. He said he would again take up this serious matter and stray dog menace would be dealt seriously and dog shelter would be built.
