Kids want Phatak to spare strays

MUMBAI: It's not just former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson who has written to the municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak on the issue of city's strays. The BMC has been receiving letters from children , too, urging Phatak to promote a sterilisation programme for dogs rather than killing them.
Ever since the Bombay high court ruled in December that the BMC could cull dogs that were a 'nuisance' , there has been a steady flow of 'protest' letters to Phatak's office, most of them from school children.
In a letter sent to the municipal commissioner on Thursday, an 11-year-old girl drew a cartoon that highlighted her worst fears. The caricature showed a puppy calmly reading a newspaper ; the headline read 'Strays are a nuisance' . Two men in the background are having a nasty brawl. "I was amused. The girl thinks the real culprits are not innocent dogs, but human beings fighting with each other,'' said Phatak.
He added that he is aware of the feelings and opinions of the children, and has "forwarded the letters to the concerned department for further deliberation'' .
The order has been stayed for six weeks after an NGO said it wished to appeal to the Supreme Court. Civic officials are not taking any action on complaints against 'nuisance' strays.
sharad.vyas@timesgroup .com