Stray dogs trouble residents

A few days ago, a two-wheeler rider in Sai Nagar, Podanur, fell off his vehicle while trying to escape a chasing street dog and is now recuperating at his house. In Ukkadam and its neighbourhood, residents found it difficult to reach mosques for the early morning prayer.

And, in a few other pockets in the city like Ganapathy, residents said they found it difficult to even walk on the streets because of fear of dogs chasing them.

These complaints have increased of late as the Coimbatore Corporation seemed to be doing very little to control stray dog population, complained N.I Jalaludeen, a Sai Nagar resident. Every residential colony in and around Podanur is populated with a pack of 10 – 15 dogs that endanger the safety of residents as well as visitors.

V.P. Rayeez of Podanur Main Road said a month ago he fell off his motorcycle while being chased by dogs when he was on his way to work. C. Sadhik of Podanur said he escaped an accident while avoiding being bitten by dogs.

Residents in Ganapathy, too, said they were being chased by dogs and that the Coimbatore Corporation seemed to be doing very little.

Corporation officials said the delay in performing the animal birth control operations was because of the delay in throwing open the operation theatre and animal care centre in Ondipudur.

Now that the Corporation had opened the centre a month ago, it expected the non-governmental organisation in-charge of the centre to resume performing the operation.