CHANDIGARH: Members of the Citizens' Association, Sector 21, a residents' collective, organised a
silent protest against the increase in dog menace on Saturday. Irregular and low water pressure and vendor encroachment in the main market and inappropriate behaviour of mechanics outside of the Sector 21 community centre till the Sector 21 market were the other issues they put forward during the protest.
Hassled by the problems of dog bites, dog attacks and an exponential increase in the population of strays within the sector, more than 40 residents from all the four blocks of the sector assembled outside the community centre to voice their concerns, discuss issues and protest against the apathetic administration.
The protest was being led by Foswac president Baljinder Singh Bittu, who is also the president of Sector 21 RWA. Speaking at the event, Bittu complained about a steep rise in the number of stray dogs within the sector, which have made visiting the park, roaming in the streets and even stepping out of the house after a certain time extremely dangerous for the residents. "We are looking at a situation where the population of stray dogs in the whole of Sector 21 has reached close to 150 now. The kids are scared to play in the park and even if they go, the parents are worried about them. The dogs have taken over the internal lanes of the sector as well and they run after people, bark at them and have filled our life with nuisance."
Numerous residents complained about the administration making false promises since years about 'effectively sterilsing' the strays but to no avail. Speaking to TOI, Harpreet Rai, a Sector 21 resident said, "Ten years ago, the population of stray dogs was just 7,000 in the city. But now, this has crossed 15,000. If the administration claims to have been sterilsiing them, how did this number increase to such a degree? The average life span of a dog is eight to 10 years. Hence, by the estimate, there should have been a massive decline in their number, but we see only the opposite."
Residents from all walks of life were seen holding placards, posters and banners reading 'Dogs have more rights than humans', 'Say yes to pet dogs, say no to stray dogs', 'Make our market free from unauthorised vendors and mechanics', 'Leakage se paani bachao, paani teesri manzil tak pahunchao', 'Aap soye hain be-khauf se, hum jaagte hain kutton ke khauf se' among others.
Another resident said, "The root cause of the problem is that there is no mechanism of redressal if a dogbite case comes to light, because there is no law that identifies this as a problem. If you tell the administration or police about it, they ask you to simply go and get a rabies injection. This is bizarre that a man can punished for beating a dog, but nothing can be done if a dog bites a man," said Param Kukreja.
Calling dog-feeders 'superstitious' and not dog-lovers, Kukreja demanded an urgent administrative intervention to this.
Many residents also complained about the lack of clean water and extremely low pressure of water since several weeks. Speaking to TOI, Jagdish Walia said, "The water supply is extremely irregular and the pressure is very low. I live on the ground floor and still face this problem. Then just think about those living on the first or second floor! Due to the low pressure, water does not reach them at all."
Residents complained about brownish muddy water reaching their homes making their lives difficult. "The problem is that this city has now gotten old and the water pipelines that were inserted into the ground 50-60 years ago have now gotten rusted and obsolete. They have never been replaced. That is why the water reaching our homes is polluted," said another resident.
The residents also protested against the constant presence of unauthorised vendors and mechanics in the market area which have encroached upon the footpaths in the vicinity. Many female protesters complained against feeling targeted by the mechanics who pass lewd comments and display an inappropriate behaviour towards them. The mechanics were also accused of polluting the road and the market footpaths with grease and oils thus staining them forever. "There was a time when this place had a scooter market which no longer exists, hence there is no reason for these mechanics to be lurking here anymore. They have to go," said Paramjeet Grewal, a Sector 21 resident.
