Vasant Kunj dog attacks: Delhi mayor asks officials to prepare action plan within a week

PTI

New Delhi, March 14

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday instructed officials to prepare an action plan within a week to control the menace of stray dogs, days after two children were mauled to death by canines in Vasant Kunj.

The minor brothers were found dead over the span of two days in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area.

Oberoi held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office informed. After the Vasant Kunj incident, 50 dogs have been picked up, out of which 90 per cent were found sterilised, the mayor was informed during the meeting. During the meeting, Mayor Oberoi took account of the prevailing situation and heard the concerns of the department, the office said in a statement.

“She pulled up officers for laxity and directed the department to ensure no such incident is repeated. The mayor has now asked the officials to prepare an action plan within a week on the issue of saving Delhiites from stray dogs,” the statement read.

The mayor has also called a meeting of NGOs related to animals, Gaushala operators and veterinary experts.

Deputy Mayor Aaley Muhammad Iqbal, and Rajendra Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak were also present along with Additional Commissioner, Veterinary Department, Veterinary Department Director and Zonal officers were also present in the meeting.

The deceased—Anand (7) and Aditya (5) -- lived with their parents in a slum cluster in Sindhi Basti.

Anand was reported missing on March 10 following which, police and the boy’s family launched a search operation.

On March 12, Anand’s younger brother Aditya went to the same jungle area, along with his cousin Chandan (24), to attend nature’s call. Chandan left the minor for some time and returned to find Aditya injured, surrounded by stray dogs, police said.

Aditya succumbed to injuries later.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the officials informed the mayor about the efforts taken to control the stray dog population in the city.

She was told that the MCD works with various NGOs to control the population of stray dogs, however, it lacks the necessary infrastructure needed to reduce the population of stray dogs.

“Currently, the MCD has 20 sterilisation centres, 16 of which are functional. Officials informed that to reduce the dog population in the city, there is a need for more sterilisation centres,” an official statement said.

“Oberoi noted that the MCD hadn’t conducted a proper census of stray animals for many years,” it said.