STREET DOGS RULE DWARKA

The news of stray dogs mauling to death children and even adults and grievously injuring many residents in separate incidents has sent shock waves across the city and also in Dwarka and brought to spotlight the stray dog menace. In the recent past, there have been several incidents where stray dogs have attacked and even killed people. These videos went viral on the social media, triggering a debate between animal lovers and those deeply pained by the incident.

 Going by reports, this was by no means an isolated case. Every now and then, one comes across reports of such attacks by dogs in which children are either grievously injured or killed. These incidents put a serious question mark on the credibility of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which is responsible for tackling the menace. The Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rule, 2001, deals with the population control of strays. It provides for the neutering of strays to achieve population stabilisation, as opposed to killing them. Improper implementation of this law is also seen as a major reason behind the growing menace of strays. According to residents government should fix accountability behind the death of two innocent children. Says Rupesh, "The number of dogs has gone up to 8 lakh and every day, 2,000 cases of dog bites are being reported in Delhi,” says Madhu Kumar, "At times the residents of the area are terrorised by stray dogs in the area and do not prefer to step out of their homes at odd hours.” Shweta Chawla, a resident, claimed: “I have been living here for a year and every two-three months, there are similar dog-related incidents. I don’t feel safe sending my children out. Now there is an uproar because a child has died, but the problem isn’t new.” It is argued by dog lovers that dogs will never attack or bite if they are not hungry. Says Radha Batra, "There are a lot of street dogs here. I am a dog lover and have been feeding around 45 dogs for the last five years, morning and evening. I can’t bear to see cruelty against these dumb animals." Dogs are seen in parks too and morning and evening walkers, specially senior citizens and ladies are under lot of mental stress while visiting the park. They are constantly under threat of being bitten by stray dogs that run around in the park. The Sector-12 park has lot of footfall who come here to exercise in open gym, walk, jog and even do yoga. But stray dogs scare them away and at times they prefer to walk on the road. Says Anil Dangi, a senior citizen who visits the park, “There are around 12 stray dogs roaming in the park and they are nuisance and imminent danger to visitors specially the elderly and children. They should be shooed away from the park.” The park in Sector-4 has boundary but there are open gates and the dogs enter the park unrestricted. Says R.D. Singh, another visitor, “Complaints have been made to remove the dogs but no one is paying heed. Then there are few visitors who feed the dogs every day. I have seen many who offer biscuits and milk to these dogs. This again create nuisance.” The residents feel that it is high time that stray dog menace be dealt with strictly.