Motorcyclists being chased by a pack of dogs is an integral part of Chennai city’s nightlife. Some motorcyclists may be living a charmed life, seemingly insulated against this experience. And then, reality catches up with them.
A fortnight ago, 43-year-old S. Vignesh, a resident of Chetpet, was deeply shaken by the experience of being chased by a pack of dogs during a nighttime ride on his motorcycle down Arunachala Road in Chintadripet. Vignesh recalls that the dogs were unusually persistent, pursuing him for a distance of around 500 metres.
Dog chases can easily induce a panic reaction in motorcyclists and this can lead to an accident.
Chintadripet residents point out that the dog population in the locality has shot up. A good numbers of dogs can be seen lolling about at Laffond Street, Adikesavalu Street, Meeyan Second Street, Singanna Chetty Street, Old Bungalow Street and Venketa Gramini Street.
Dogs smell their way to leftover food in and around bins on many of these streets. The bins there overflow with garbage, say residents, who think garbage in bins that are cleared late, could be encouraging dogs from neighbouring areas such as Pudupet and Egmore to cross over to Chintadripet.
Residents and motorists also point out that dogs from many streets in Chintadropet are drawn to the leftovers near the fish market at Arunachala Road in Chintadripet. They say that waste from the market should not be dumped in roadside bins.
ABC programme
Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for canines is the right and human way to keep the dog population in an area. Corporation officials say that most of the dogs in the city have been sterilised.
“Steps will be taken to increase the number of trips undertaken every day to clear garbage from bins on the locality,” says a Corporation official.