Goel shares plan to curb dog bites in city

NEW DELHI: Former Union minister Vijay Goel of BJP on Thursday presented a five-point action plan with lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to control the number of dog bites in the city and asked him to take it up with the commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Goel said there were more than eight lakh stray dogs in Delhi and the hospitals reported increasing cases of dog bites each day, the victims of which usually are children and elderly.
The former cabinet minister's action plan includes a census of stray dogs which has not been done for the last eight years. Secondly, statistics on dog bite incidents should be obtained from government and private hospitals. Goel said that according to an estimate, more than 2,000 cases of dog bites are being reported daily.
Thirdly, sterilisation of street dogs should be a made priority by MCD, otherwise it won't take long for street dogs to multiply from 8 lakh to 60 lakh.
Fourth, there is an acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in the city and it should be made available at the earliest by the authorities concerened, Goel said.
Fifth, the LG should call a meeting of resident welfare associations and discuss with them the issue of stray dog bites and find a solution.
Goel said the LG expressed his concern over the problem of dog bites and gave assurance that he would talk to MCD commissioner and other officers concerned of the corporation, adding that his focus is only on making the city rabies-free.