"A couple of months ago, while I was briskly walking down my street, a pack of dogs were feasting on a pile of uncleared garbage pounced on me. Along with anti-rabies injection, I also had to have five sutures followed by high fever. Due to the street dog menace, I've stopped walking on the streets", laments Srinivasan, a Resident of Poo Market area.
While the stray dog menace remains unabated in the City, the two NGOs- Humane Animal Society (HAS) and People For Animals (PFA) Unit II who are entrusted with the task of animal birth control (ABC) surgeries on stray dogs, point fingers at the City Corporation for the slackness in the project.
The City Corporation has assigned HAS with 20 wards in the West Zone and the PFA Unit II with 80 wards that fall under East, North, South and Central Zones to administer anti-rabies vaccine and perform ABCs on stray dogs.
"Almost every month, I sight new puppies which clearly is an indication that no birth control surgeries are being carried out by the City Corporation. About a year ago, there were just 7-8 dogs in my street. Now, the numbers have gone up manifold . At present, there are about 30 plus canines prowling on our streets", says Eswarammal of Ganapathy area.
"For every ABC performed, the Corporation pays us Rs. 445. As the costs associated with the process goes beyond the said fee, a GO was passed in 2013 to increase the fee to Rs. 700. However, till date the GO has not been implmented by the Corporation which still continues to pay us only the old fee. Hence, it becomes a cumbersome task for us to perform ABCs seamlessly. Many times, we are forced to spend from our pockets to carry out sterilization for dogs. And, importantly, halting the process every now and then makes the whole process futile", shares Mini Vasudevan from HAS.
She also claimed that at the wards entrusted with their NGO, the menace is well under control. "Despite the delay in funding by the City Corporation, we haven't delayed the process", she said.
Yet another resident, Rajasekaran from Gandhi Maa Nagar, said that "Despite lodging complaints with the NGOs entrusted with controlling dog menace, the response has been next to nil. Post dawn, it's a nightmare for us here, as stray dogs madly sprint after the motorists' and make them topple".
"Sterilization doesn't address the menace instantly.But if implemented systematically, the spurting stray dog population can be well controlled. But, of late, the laxity in process has aggravated the issue. Uncleared garbage leads to the surge in stray dog population. When a pack of dogs is feasting on garbage they often end up in brawls and that is when they pounce on pedestrians or motorists. Hence, it is important that garbage piles are cleared at regular intervals", Mini added.
"No doubt, sterilisation will control their reproduction; but does it prevent them from biting or chasing people? A couple of months back, a rabies-infected dog in our area gave birth to 4 puppies and all of them were infected.. Every time when they scratch, there are some fine particles or flies that can be spotted in the air. It's highly nauseating and terrifying. The City Corporation should address such issues on priority before they spread some dreadful disease in the locality ", opines a resident from West Venkatasamy Road, RS Puram.
"In 2014-15, we have performed ABCs on 7418 stray dogs, in 2015-16 it rose to 9369. However during the current year (2016-17) , only 3155 ABCs have been performed, till date" said Kalpana, Coordinator at PFA, entrusted with 80 wards to perform ABCs on stray dogs.
"During the last quarter, the number of ABCs carried out was considerably less. In general, the dogs would be administered with anesthesia prior to sterilization surgery. As the ability of the dogs to recoup from surgery and anesthesia during rainy seasons is suspect , we have done very few surgeries this season. And, for the coming year, we plan to perform 8000 ABCs", Kalpana added.
When we quizzed Kalpana on the approximate number of stray dogs in the city, she said "It's simply impossible to pinpoint a number".
Clarifying the complaint against the City Corporation, City Health Officer, Dr. K. Santhosh Kumar said " it's true that a GO was passed in 2013 to increase the ABC fee from Rs. 445 to Rs. 700 but it is only for areas that come under the Panchayat and not the Corporation. Agreed, there were some time delays in dispatching funds to HAS and PFA but those issues have now been rectified. Due to paucity of funds, there were some delays in the past. At present, there is no delay in disbursing funds. The NGOs have to understand the process of approval in government offices, the bills have to go through several desks before getting a final approval".
"Instead of whining, the NGOs, who have service motto, should go ahead in carrying out the task entrusted to them without any break", he added.