Tribune News Servic

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, February 24

Under multi-phases of the ongoing programme that was first launched on February 25, 2015, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, claimed to have sterilised 80,670 stray dogs in the city till date.

But residents of various city areas have been complaining about the stray dog menace.

According to information collected from the MC office, sterilisation of 51,583 stray dogs was done between 2015 and June 2021. After the construction of the new building of the MC’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre at Haibowal, another phase of the programme was launched in June 2021 under which 29,087 more stray dogs have been sterilised to date.

Notably, a ‘V’ shape cut is marked on dog’s ear once the sterilisation process is done. The MC aims to complete the ongoing phase of the programme by March 31, 2023. However, no actual data is available that how many stray dogs are yet to be sterilised in the city.

A former member of the Ludhiana West Grievances Redressal Committee and resident of Rishi Nagar, Satish Thaman, said even years after the launching of the sterilisation project, it seems to be no relief from the stray dog menace in the city. “A large number of incidents have been reported wherein stray dogs attacked people, including children and the elderly. Stray canines can be commonly seen chasing cyclists or two-wheeler riders in streets. The Centre and state governments must take steps to construct dog shelters in every area to prevent dog-bite cases. Moreover, vaccination of dogs must be ensured for the prevention of rabies and other diseases,” he said.

When the programme was launched in 2015, the MC initially aimed to sterilise 25K stray dogs at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore within one year. Later, the programme was extended due to the estimated presence of more stray dogs in large numbers in the city as per information.

A former councillor, Inder Aggarwal, said: “When the mission that aimed to sterilise stray dogs had been launched eight years ago, we wanted that the project work to be carried out ward wise but it was not done like that. Thus, the mission seems incomplete today. The population of stray dogs is seemingly increasing in the city as a number of stray canines have not been sterilised to date. A four-year child was recently mauled to death by stray dogs somewhere in the country. It is also a national issue. There is a dire need to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents.”

A dog lover, Major Amarjit Singh (retd), said: “We feel bad whenever any stray dog bite incident occurs. But, we can’t say every stray dog attacks or bites. Stray canines must not be provoked at all what I believe. There is a need to construct a shelter for them in every ward and a dog lover of the same area can be appointed as in-charge to look after them. Many suggestions were given by the dog lovers during meetings with the MC authorities a few years ago but nothing had been done at the ground level. Moreover, sterilisation of the stray dogs must be done in a well planned manner,” he said.

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said the sterilisation project was delayed for some time during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It seems that the ongoing programme for sterilisation of stray dogs can be extended. But, there is no figure available right now that how many strays are yet to be sterilised. The staff concerned were earlier asked to expedite the ongoing project work,” Sandhu said.

No data about canines yet to be sterilised