Ludhiana civic body yet to contain dog bite incidents in city areas

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, July 3

Despite sterilising over 86,000 stray dogs during the past eight years, cases of dog bite incidents are still being reported from various parts of the city.

A resident, Dharminder Verma, from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on Sunday made a complaint to the Municipal Corporation (MC), claiming that a stray dog had bitten seven residents during the past few days. The complainant alleged that the dog was suspected rabid. In response, the MC had placed the dog under observation to determine if it was infected with rabies or not.

Residents in areas such as Gandhi Colony, Model Gram, Urban Estate, Urban Vihar and Ghumar Mandi had raised concerns about dog bite incidents. However, the government is yet to take concrete measures to prevent such incidents.

Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Gandhi Colony, shared concern regarding the persisting issue in the city.

“Despite our efforts to raise the issue, no relief has been provided from dog bite incidents. The sterilisation drive conducted by the corporation has not made a significant impact as the population of stray dogs in our area has visibly increased in recent years. The authorities should implement appropriate measures to prevent such incidents,” he said.

Gurdeep Singh Neetu, a former councillor from Ward Number 52, said the issue of stray dog bite incidents was prevalent in areas such as Senhsi Mohalla, Kidwai Nagar and other localities within the ward.

“Though the MC had previously initiated a stray dog sterilisation project, I am dissatisfied with the results so far. The sterilisation process should have been conducted with a proper planning, which the MC failed to do,” he said.

Neetu also highlighted a recent incident where an 11-year-old child was bitten by a stray dog. He said the injured child was rushed to a private clinic where his family had to bear the cost of vaccination to prevent rabies. He said the state government must take necessary measures to find a solution for preventing dog bite incidents.

A government official faced an attack from stray dogs at night while returning to his rented accommodation near Jawahar Nagar Camp recently. Fortunately, some passers-by came forward to help and save him. The official emphasised the importance of implementing necessary actions to safeguard people from aggressive dogs.

Notably, the MC launched a project for sterilisation of stray dogs in February 2015. According to MC’s Veterinary branch, the civic body had sterilised 51,583 stray dogs between February 2015 and June 2021. Senior Veterinary Officer Harbans Dhalla said the MC had sterilised around 35,073 more stray dogs between June 2021 and May 2023.

Anti-rabies drive not launched so far

The civic body has been unsuccessful in starting its proposed anti-rabies campaign for dogs till now. Around two years ago, a senior veterinary officer of the MC had proposed the idea of launching the campaign to eradicate rabies, which is a vaccine-preventable viral disease, from the city but unfortunately, it could not be initiated. It was planned that anti-rabies vaccinations will be administered to all stray and domestic dogs under the campaign.

According to information, implementing dog vaccination programmes and adopting preventative measures to reduce dog bites are highly effective strategies for preventing the spread of rabies.

Dr Harbans Dhalla said he had rejoined MC office after a long period. “Now, I will start focusing on the proposal to start an anti-rabies drive for dogs in the city,” he said.

Dr Dhalla said the MC could not relocate dogs from their original locations, as per guidelines of the Animal Welfare Board of India. He said their current focus was prioritising the sterilisation of female dogs.

He appealed to residents and NGOs to provide information about female dogs in their respective areas to the MC’s ABC (Animal Birth Control) centre in Haibowal for sterilisation.

7 bitten by stray dog in few days

Dharminder Verma from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on Sunday made a complaint to the MC, claiming that a stray dog had bitten seven residents during the past few days. The complainant alleged that the canine was suspected rabid.

In response, the corporation had placed the dog under observation to determine if it was infected with rabies or not.

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