Noida: Tension simmered at Lotus Panache as differences over the presence of stray dogs on the compound snowballed into a confrontation between two groups of residents on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Sector 110 society's AOA had called in a Noida Authority team to catch a pack of community dogs that reside in the society after two alleged dog bite cases in the past two weeks, including one on Aug 17. The AOA citing ABC (animal birth control) rules on relocation of aggressive canines.
AOA members told TOI some residents opposed this and tried to stop the van from entering the society with help from "outsiders", which led to a heated argument. Videos shared on social media platforms show a crowd on the Panache compound with residents seen arguing loudly. As tempers flared, police were called to the society.
Residents opposing the "illegal relocation" of strays claimed they were locked out of the society by the other group of residents around 1am. They alleged there were around 16 dogs, all sterilised and vaccinated, on the compound and only one dog — which had bitten a 15-year-old boy on Sunday while he was playing in the condominium's park — was aggressive. They said the dog catchers wanted to take away all the dogs instead, which is why they opposed the move.
Jaya Sahni, an AOA member, said there had been repeated complaints of dog attacks over the past few months because of which the Noida Authority team was informed. Kuldeep Bisht, another AOA member, said, "Some residents brought in outsiders to escalate the protest. Around 30 people from outside entered the society around 1am and began threatening residents and AOA members."
Section 16(3) of the ABC Rules, 2023, mandates that animals involved in dog bite or suspected rabies cases be humanely captured and housed at an ABC centre for observation. Rule 11 of the section that deals with capturing, sterilisation, immunisation and release states that "capturing of street dogs shall be conducted for the following reasons, namely (a) general purpose: for which the local authority in consultation with the monitoring committees shall decide to control the excess population of street dogs through animal birth control programme in a specific area or region.; and (b) Specific complaints for which the local authority, in consultation with the monitoring committee, shall set up an animal complaint cell at the ABC centre to receive information or complaints about dog bites from street dogs suspected to be suffering from rabies".
According to AOA members, a 32-year-old man was bitten by a community dog on Aug 5 while he was walking his pet. The incident came weeks after a resident, doing yoga at the society's park, was attacked, allegedly by a pack, on July 28. Earlier, on June 22, a 72-year-old woman fell and broke her wrist after a dog allegedly attacked her on the campus.
Shweta Singh, a resident who feeds dogs, told TOI that after the recent biting incident, they had agreed with the AOA that the dog that bit the child should be taken to a shelter. "We even offered to assist in the process. However, when the dog-catching van arrived, AOA members and other residents instructed the catcher to remove all community dogs from the society, which was not part of the agreement. That is why we resisted and insisted that only the identified dog be taken," he said.
Another resident, who requested anonymity, said, "Under ABC Rules, community feeders are expected to help with catching dogs, since the animals are friendlier with us. Our plan was to gather around 9-10 pm, during feeding time outside the society gate, and calmly guide the dog that bit the child into the van. But while we waited outside with the catcher, other residents forced the van inside, locked the gate, and prevented us from entering."
He also alleged that the dogs' aggression stemmed from beatings by society guards on the instructions of AOA members.
Rule 11 of the ABC Rules explicitly prohibits the relocation of community dogs.
Guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in Feb 2015, for RWAs and AOAs, state: "As per Indian law, street dogs cannot be beaten or driven away or dumped elsewhere or killed. They can merely be sterilised in the manner envisaged in the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, vaccinated, and then returned to their original locations."
Sanjay Mahapatra of NGO House of Stray Animals, which accompanied the Noida team with a dog-catching van, confirmed they were called to identify and take away the dog that had bitten a child. "Before catching any community dog, we verify the incident. We scanned the CCTV footage to confirm which dog bit the child and instructed the catcher to take only that one. However, when our team arrived, some residents asked the catcher to remove other dogs roaming in the society as well," Mahapatra told TOI.
Police said the faceoff continued till 2am when the dog-catching team eventually left the spot. "The team could not locate the dog and had to return," Phase-2 SHO Vindhyanchal Tiwari said, adding that around 20 personnel were deployed at the society. No formal complaint was filed by either group of residents till Wednesday evening, he said.
On Aug 11, the Supreme Court’s in a suo moto order had directed the Delhi govt, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the authorities of the NCR to pick up community dogs and relocate them to shelters and pounds within eight weeks.
Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays, public holidays, and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.