Panchkula: Shopkeepers distraught as dog bites passers-by, MC denies claims

Shopkeepers of Sector 8 Market here claimed that a stray female dog in the area has bitten atleast 15 people in the past few days.

In a complaint marked to deputy commissioner of MC Panchkula, the shopkeepers mentioned that the dog is aggressive and is biting passers-by daily. The complaint, signed by six shopkeepers, mentions that the dog has already bitten 15 persons. They have shared a video purportedly showing the dog chasing a few people.

One of the complainant, Deepali said, “Three to four weeks ago, a female dog gave birth to puppies in the market area. She is ferocious and without any provocation, she attacks people visiting the market and those working here.”

She said that a few shopkeepers have written a letter to deputy municipal commissioner, Panchkula, and even requested MLA Gian Chand Gupta, but no one came for help. “We want the female dog and her litter be shifted to some other open area, where common public does not get attacked by her,” she added.

Budhpal, an employee working in one of the shops was bitten on his hand, as he was walking towards the shop.

Lalit, who has an office in the market claimed that few days ago, the dog attacked his maid’s daughter without any provocation.

Azeem Mirza, who works in a store in the market, claimed, “This dog has bitten at least 15-20 persons, mostly new people in the market. An Amazon delivery person was attacked on Diwali. Also, it has bitten two children of labourers living nearby.”

What do the authorities have to say?

Deputy municipal commissioner Apoorva Chaudhary said, “Receiving complaint, our teams visited the spot, but the female dog is extremely loving and is of no harm. We have videos to prove. Rather, the dog was hit by a strong object on her head and has injuries.”

He said that he himself went and found that the dog was not aggressive. “And as per dog bylaws, they cannot change the location/ area of the dog,” he added.

Over 8,000 dog bite cases have been reported this year

This year, Panchkula has witnessed over 8,000 dog bite cases, as per the data provided by CMO. The figure is the highest since 2020. In 2022, 5,655 dog bite cases were reported in Panchkula through the year, while their number was 6,016 in 2021 and 5,692 in 2020.

In July, the figure had reached over 5000. Alarmed by it, MC decided to adopt all aggressive dogs of the city to train them and lower their aggression. This decision was taken during the meeting of the dog monitoring and sterilisation committee held under the chairmanship of mayor Kulbhushan Goyal in July.