Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As many as 21 people falling prey to dog bites on Tuesday in MP Nagar within an hour, followed by the death of a seven-month-old infant in Ayodhya Nagar on Thursday, who was mauled by stray dogs, that is what it took for the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) to plunge into action and wipe out stray dogs from the city. When Free Press took stock of the dog catching operation being conducted by the BMC, it came to light that the squad had caught 12 stray dogs from the area close to Ravindra Bhawan and Professor’s Colony.
On speaking to the dog squad personnel, it was learnt that the dogs shall be set free after the ongoing Judges’ conclave at Ravindra Bhawan concludes on Sunday. The laxity of the BMC has not subsided, even after collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh ordered a detailed probe into the Ayodhya Nagar infant death and said that action will be taken against the BMC workers who have exercised negligence in the case.
It is noteworthy that despite the dog bite incidents being reported from MP Nagar and Ayodhya Nagar, the other city areas where the dog menace still prevails are being paid no heed to. Some of such localities include Bittan Market, Shahpura and Arera Colony, where the stray dogs’ rage mounts with the dark hours of the day kicking in. People often meet with accidents, when chased by street dogs and some of them fall prey to biting incidents.
Animal lovers interfere during dog catching: BMC dog squad in-charge
Health officer and dog squad in-charge at BMC, Rakesh Sharma, in stark contrast to the ground reality, told Free press that the civic body has expedited the dog catching operations across the state capital. He added that the interference done by the animal enthusiasts during the dog catching operation adds to their woes many a times.
Five booked for interrupting BMC work
The teams of Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had swung into action to catch stray dogs, had to endure wrath of five animal enthusiasts while abiding by the collector’s orders on Saturday morning. The animal enthusiasts not only prevented them from catching dogs but also manhandled them. A case has been registered against all of them. Ayodhya Nagar police station house officer (SHO) Mahesh Lillare said team was carrying out drive near New Minal Residency when five persons named Niroj Singh, Neha Yadav, Nisha Dwivedi, Nishez Arora and Draupadi Tripathi stopped their work. When the team did not stop work, all five of them abused and manhandled team. One of the workers, Harish Jhaba, lodged a police complaint against all the five accused.
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