Tricity roads turning deathly for canines

CHANDIGARH: Animal welfare activists claim that Tricity cars have been hitting 10 dogs a day, up from last year’s average of three to four cases in two days.

The SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals) shelter alone houses more than 100 dogs whom reckless drivers tried to run over. Furever Friends and the Animal Welfare Association of Panchkula (AWAP), too, have reported a spike in the number of road accidents that involve canines. SPCA volunteer Ishwita Kaur said: “A good sign is that the number of people who care to report injured dogs to us has also gone up.”


About facilities at the SPCA shelter, she said: “We have ambulances available till midnight for Chandigarh but people from anywhere in the Tricity can bring injured dogs to us. The maximum cases are from Chandigarh but people do bring dogs from Punjab as well.” About the most active reporting pockets, Furever Friends founder Vikas Luthra said: “Calls come in from everywhere, though Mohali tops the charts with five to six cases a day, a lot more than earlier. “On Monday morning alone, we had a case from Sector 21, Panchkula, and another from Zirakpur. You can guess the situation.”

Meenakshi Mahapatra of the AWAP said: “Some dogs injured in accidents live but many don’t survive. In a recent accident, a puppy lay on the road for 30 minutes with a broken spine and, later, died during treatment. There are rash drivers who do not value animal life, so they want to run over any dog that’s chasing their car. Even if they hit a dog by accident, they don’t care to call for help or take the animal to hospital.”

She said: “Sometimes, the accidents are deliberate. We have witness accounts for two similar accidents at the same spot, in which the driver crushed the dog’s legs on purpose.” Luthra said: “People injure stray dogs purposely to remove them from the street. With winter approaching and foggy mornings coming back, animal rights activists expect the number of these accidents to rise.