Dog bite cases in Chandigarh dropped by 70% in four years
As per information shared in Lok Sabha, Chandigarh reported a total of 5,365 cases of dog bites in 2022, significantly lower than the 18,378 cases reported in 2019
Dog bite cases have witnessed a significant drop of 70% in Chandigarh over the past four years, data tabled during the ongoing Lok Sabha session showed.
As per the information, the city reported a total of 5,365 cases of dog bites in 2022, significantly lower than the 18,378 cases reported in 2019. The downward trend has continued in the period, 13,447 cases being reported in 2020 and 6,306 in 2021.
The municipal corporation has attributed the drop to measures such as the sterilisation of stray dogs.
Unimpressed, city residents and councillors believe that the civic body’s measures remain inadequate.
In the recent House meeting, which was held on July 25, city councillor Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu had tabled an agenda saying that house should pass a resolution and write a letter to Union government, requesting them to amend the laws and rules of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PC Act) and the Animal Birth Control rules, so as to facilitate the measures to reduce the population of stray dogs.
“Despite our efforts, we could not get desired results. We should suggest changes to the centre in the dog bylaws so that we can have effective mechanisms to curb the menace which is a big problem in the entire city,” Sidhu said.
City councillors had also lambasted the civic body’s medical officer of health (MOH) wing for not doing enough to control the menace.
“Dog-catching and sterilisation drives are a mere eyewash. There is no result of these actions. In a month, about four people were bitten by dogs in Sector 28,” Bharatiya Janata Party councillor Harpreet Kaur Babla had said.
MC officials, meanwhile, maintain that the sterilisation of stray dogs is being carried out effectively in the city, as per the ABC programme. They added that a total of 22,808 stray dogs have been sterilised till since the programme’s inception in the year 2015.
