In Action Plan, MC Seeks Ban On Pit Bull, Rottweiler

The municipal corporation on Monday sought a ban on aggressive breeds such as Pit Bulls and Rottweiler in its action plan against dog menace.

The MC’s action plan was released by VP Singh Badnore on Monday. Seeking the ban, the MC has written to the UT animal husbandry department, said MS Kamboj, who heads MC’s animal birth control programme.

Last week, an owner was booked after his pet pit bull attacked and bit a 25-year-old woman on her right arm and leg in Sector 30.

The dog’s owner, identified as Prem Chand, a businessman was booked after the incident. In another incident that took place in January this year, a Mundi Kharar resident was arrested after her pet pit bull bit and injured her neighbour.

In November last year, a Mohali court had convicted a woman of being negligent after her pet dog bit her neighbour. The woman, who was staying in a rented accommodation in Phase 10, was awarded six-month jail and fined ₹1,500.

Year on, sterilisation project hangs fire

The MC has failed to engage a private agency to take up the dog sterilisation programme. Kamboj said that the civic body has floated a tender three times in the last nine months, but has not received response from any private agency.

“We have now floated the tender with updated norms, allowing qualified veterinary doctors to apply for the contract,” he said.

As per the census conducted in 2019, the stray dog population has gone up by 65% within seven years in Chandigarh. While the number of stray dogs stood at 7,847 in the last census conducted in 2012, it had reached 12,900 in 2019.

Stray dogs being geo tagged

In its action plan, the MC has proposed geo tagging of stray dogs to keep a track on their location in order to make the sterilisation process easy.

Besides, the civic body will launch a mass vaccination programme to prevent spread of rabies. The MC plans to encourage residents to adopt stray dogs by giving out free parking passes in market areas as well as exemption in property tax.

A helpline will also be launched for residents to report dog bite cases. A policy will be put in place on breeding and rearing of pets.