Residents distraught as dogs lord over streets

Ludhiana: Terrified by the increasing number of stray dog attacks, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar residents said that no measures were being taken to tackle the situation in their area as it doesn’t fall under the municipal corporation (MC)’s jurisdiction.The residents rued that the area falls under the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, which is not even equipped to lift stray cattle for sterilization and relies on the MC for acting over their complaints.They also rued that the MC officials take prompt action in areas that fall under their jurisdiction and don’t act swiftly over complaints issued by others.Arvind Sharma, an area resident, said, “The problem is severe in E-block, where two people are getting bitten by stray dogs in a week on average. The canines have forced the residents to stay indoors as much as possible as they suddenly attack passers-by.”He said the residents had taken up the matter with LIT officials, who took it lightly and conveyed the complaint to the MC officials. He claimed that people are unable to enter the parks due to the fear of encountering stray dogs.Another area resident, Gaurav Sareen, approached the DC in this matter. He mentioned in a complaint that stray dogs have become a constant fear for people of all age-groups and requested the DC to intervene.Meanwhile, LIT engineer Vikram said, “We have received a complaint about the stray dog menace in the area but we are not equipped to lift them so we have requested the MC to look into it.”However, an MC official said they can only send teams to catch dogs to sterlize them for population control and are required to release them back.“We cannot go against the rules of the Animal Welfare Board of India,” he said.