Dog bite menace in Chandigarh: 42,866 cases in 4 years, sterilisation slows down from 2022

AAP councillor Anju Katyal has written to the Secretary Chandigarh civic body specifying that “the entire Chandigarh is suffering from the problem of stray dogs and dog bite cases are increasing each day.” She also said that Chandigarh is on second rank, among others UTs in dog bite cases and people are really scared due to stray dogs especially elderly and children.

A reply by the Medical Officer of Health (MoH) of the Municipal Corporation said that they have been “carrying out the ABC programme effectively” and since its inception in 2015, over 22,808 dogs have been covered under the said ABC programme. “As a result the dog bite cases have reduced significantly,” the reply added.

The issue will be tabled before the General House meet on Tuesday as well. For two days in a row, victims have fallen prey to street dogs in Sector 28. Fear has gripped the localities and people fear to move out of their streets due to the menace.

Chandigarh Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra while speaking to The Indian Express said that the civic body has picked up most of the biting dogs. “The sterilisation is being also done sector-wise on a daily basis,” Mitra added.

Sterilisation drops, breeding grows ‘manifold’

As compared to the previous years, since June 2022, only one third of the street dogs have been sterilised to the number seen in the preceding year.

From June 27, 2022 till date, as many as 2,225 street dogs have been operated, of which 1,041 are male and 1,184 are female. This sterilisation is being done at Rs 1,700 per dog by an agency called Compassion for Animals Welfare association (CAWA).

From September 2020 to September 2021, as many as 6,498 street dogs have been operated of which 3,497 are male and 3,001 are female. “The sterilisation is really going very slow while breeding is manifold. If the officials manage it well, they wouldn’t have,” former leader of opposition of AAP, councillor Yogesh Dhingra said.

Dhingra said that “there is absolute terror in the city” and the officials ask “for the picture of the dog” which is absolutely a sham. “A person who has been bitten will he/ she first click picture of the dog? And especially now when the weather is hot, why are not the officials particular about sterilisation,” Dhingra asked.