Mayor Malti Rai held a meeting of Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers, including Commissioner Frank Noble, and others to address the issue of rising incidents of dog biting in Bhopal, at ISBT on Tuesday. After the meeting, the Mayor said that they are taking action every day, but when an accident happens, then the news spreads more while there is hardly any discussion about our actions. Cases of biting by stray dogs are continuously coming to light in Bhopal. On Tuesday also, two cases were reported in Misrod area.

 

Earlier on January 10, a 7-month-old baby was torn to death by dogs. On January 11, a 3-year-old child was bitten by stray dogs and when the father complained, the pet lovers beat him up. On January 15, 4 cases were reported simultaneously. As questioned by media in the discussion, Mayor Rai said that despite having limited resources, 20 to 30 sterilisation are being done every day. She said that there is an appeal to people that if they are keeping dogs then they should keep them in cages. Many a times, pet lovers come forward when our teams try to bring dogs to sterilisation centres. We are also taking action against them, she said. She also showed a video to the media about the situation the BMC teams have to deal while they try to catch any stray dog.

 

On Tuesday, the Mayor also held a hearing on the helpline. A total of 321 complaints have been received here regarding dogs. In such a situation, the Mayor has asked the corporation officials to intensify the action. On the other hand, Congress also raised questions on the issue. Leader of Opposition in the BMC Shabista Zaki has even announced a reward on the Mayor, saying that there is a terror of stray dogs, and she is missing. She claimed that they have become beyond the reach of common people. Mayor Malti Rai on these allegations said that public representatives should make arrangements for bettering a situation. It is very easy to make allegations in the existing system. If support can be obtained in any arrangement then the public representative should provide it. If the corporators make arrangements in their wards, these allegations and counter-allegations will end, she said.