Finally, MC wakes up, begins dog sterilisation in Ambala

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ambala, July 13

Rising from deep slumber, the civic bodies in Ambala Cantonment and City have outsourced the sterilisation of street dogs in a bid to check their rising population in the twin towns.

While the Ambala Cantonment Municipal Council has hired a Rajasthan-based private firm to undertake the work to neuter strays in the town as per the government's Animal Birth Control programme at the rate of Rs 798 per dog, the Ambala City Municipal Corporation allotted the work at Rs 710 per dog.

The development assumes significance as the stray dog menace had turned serious and went unchecked during the lockdown as the number of dog bite cases rose exponentially in the district.

The dog bite cases, the average of which was 5 to 7 till March, had gone up to 15 to 20 during the past two months. Most of the dog bite victims were children and elderly.

As the numbers are increasing with no check on the menace, most of these cases were reported of Class III injuries, which require a full course of vaccination and haemoglobin treatment to save the patient, said sources at local hospitals.

Locals, however, rued official apathy in checking the rising population of strays.

A local, Manveen, whose two-year-old child was attacked by a group of stray dogs, said, "The attack had left us so terrified that we have stopped venturing out of our home on foot. Whenever we need to go out, we go in our car."

"The civic authorities had turned a blind eye towards the problem, which had gone from bad to worse during the lockdown," rued Surinder Kumar, a shopkeeper.

As per experts, dogs get violent due to food, fear, territorial, rabies and sexual aggression. "These provoke them to attack people," said senior veterinarian Gurinder Singh.

OVER 32K CANINES IN TWIN TOWNS

• There are more 32,000 stray dogs in the twin towns of Ambala i.e. Cantonment and City
• The official figures put 20,000 canines in Ambala City and 12,000 in Cantonment municipal limits
• Sources say the number must be much higher as no stray dog census had been conducted for the past five years

ONLY 12 PETS REGISTERED

• Only 12 pet dogs have been registered with Municipal Corporation in Ambala City, whereas the number was estimated to be in hundreds
• After charging a one-time pet registration fee of Rs 1,000, the MC issues a token to be worn by the registered pet
• As per law, the pet owner is liable for criminal action in case the registered dog bites someone

from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3fxI7Ew