Stray dogs turning violent and attacking people, especially children, was a topic of a heated debate in the Kozhikode Corporation Council meeting on Friday after Mankavu councillor Omana Madhu brought up the issue.
She said stray dogs attacked children going to madrasas early in the morning, often tearing up their clothes and sometimes causing bodily harm. Several stray dogs are being taken to the Corporation’s ABC Centre for sterilisation and brought back, while many are found with puppies, she said questioning the very purpose of sterilisation. Other councillors too pitched in raising similar issues in their wards and demanded a viable solution.
Congress councillor K.C. Shobitha pointed out that the District Collector and the Sub Divisional Magistrate had powers to issue temporary orders to keep dangerous animals under protective custody. However, councillor C.M. Jamsheer said the provision did not encompass stray dogs, but only wild animals. IUML councillor K. Moideen Koya suggested that stray dogs be captured and put in shelters where they could be sterilised.
Mayor Beena Philip admitted that the Corporation was in a difficult situation, and that it was bound to follow the orders of the Supreme Court on stray dogs. She said Kozhikode was the first Corporation in the State to start an ABC Centre to counter stray dog menace, and that it was launching a stray dog adoption programme this week.
No concrete solution emerged during the meeting, and the Mayor said the Corporation would consider opening stray dog shelters if suitable land and facilities to feed them were available.
For the record, the civic body had increased staff strength at the ABC Centre at Poolakkadavu a month ago to speed up the sterilisation process. The Mayor said the ABC programme would take at least 10 years to show proper results, and that the number of stray dogs was likely to go up considerably before it comes down in 10 years.