Dog sterilisation ‘complete eyewash’: BJP councillor Harpreet Babla calls out Chandigarh Municipal Corporation ruled by her own party

According to the official figures that came out before the general house meeting, Chandigarh recorded 42,866 dog bite cases in the last four years.

In reply to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Anju Katyal seeking details on stray dogs in the city, the municipal corporation, the medical officer of health had said the civic body was “carrying out the ABC (animal birth control) programme effectively”, and since its inception in 2015, over 22,808 dogs had been sterilised.

“As a result, the dog bite cases have reduced significantly,” the reply had said.

However, Babla alleged even though each street has over 30 stray dogs, the civic body sterilises only two or three of them. “If a city like Chandigarh cannot manage these cases, then it’s a fiasco. Dog sterilisation has to be a systematic process,” Babla said.

She alleged that five or six cases of people bitten by pet dogs were reported in Sector 28, but the civic body did not compensate the victim even though a provision exists for the same.

AAP councillor Katyal had also written to the secretary of the Chandigarh civic body, saying “the entire Chandigarh is suffering from the problem of stray dogs and dog bite cases are increasing each day”.

“Chandigarh is in second place in dog bite cases, and people, especially elderly and children, are terrified due to stray dogs,” she had stated.