Bathinda MC’s sterilisation project fails to take off

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 28

In a clear indication of rising stray dog menace in the city, the Civil Hospital treated 208 dog bite victims in December.

A doctor at the hospital said the stray dog menace was quite high as they were getting five or six dog bite patients daily.

NGO Naujawan Welfare Society president Sonu Maheshwari said the actual figures of dog bite incidents were quite high as this data was only for the Civil Hospital. In the most of the cases, people rush to private hospitals for anti-rabies treatment.

He also said stray cattle and stray dogs menace were increasing in the city. He urged the district administration to tackle the issue at the earliest.

Even as the problem continues to rise, the Municipal Corporation has failed to launch its much-awaited sterilisation project to control the growing number of canines in the city.

MC Superintendent Engineer (SE) Sandeep Gupta said, “The sterilisation project will start soon and we will call a tender after getting nod at the general house meeting”.

According to norms, canines would be caught, operated upon, fed and then released after being provided due medical care, he added. Residents said there should be a deadline for sterilisation and a permanent solution to incidents of dog bites should be devised as dogs roam in all localities of the city.

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.

Apart from this, even the MC had planned to construct a dog shelter, which has also failed to take off.

The stray dogs have even bitten the Mayor, the Senior Superintendent of Police and many others in the past. Despite this, the administration has failed to come up with a special policy to tackle this growing menace in the city.

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