PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has begun formulating a strategy to address the problems being caused by aggressive stray dogs in the city following the Supreme Court’s recent directive to relocate all stray dogs from the Delhi-NCR region to dog shelters and take action against those obstructing the process. At the same time, Dehradun mayor Saurabh Thapliyal clarified that the corporation is not targeting all stray dogs but will focus on segregating the strays which are aggressive or need medical attention.
In the corporation’s last board meeting, several councillors had expressed serious concern over the rising number of dog bite incidents in their wards. They had claimed that such cases have increased noticeably in recent years, with many involving stray dogs chasing small children and senior citizens, a situation that has at times resulted in accidents. The councillors had urged the mayor to take urgent and effective measures, stressing that the issue is now a significant public safety concern.
The mayor said that they receive frequent complaints from residents about stray dogs chasing people during morning and evening walks, pursuing cyclists or motorcyclists and in some cases behaving aggressively in busy residential areas. While there have been no reported deaths from rabies in Dehradun so far, the number of bite cases remains a concern.
Thapliyal said that past efforts to take action have often faced resistance from NGOs, animal lovers and animal welfare groups, who have argued that under earlier Supreme Court guidelines, the corporation could not act against the dogs in question. He acknowledged that these constraints had earlier prevented the MCD from removing certain dogs flagged by locals as dangerous. However, he said that the recent Supreme Court order now allows the corporation to frame a more decisive plan to deal with such situations. As part of this plan, the MCD is assessing how many dog shelters can be set up and where they should be located, to care for stray dogs that require medical attention or have shown repeated aggressive behaviour. “We are certainly not going to put every stray dog into a shelter. Many residents feed and care for strays and our aim is not to discourage that. We simply want to separate those dogs that pose a threat to public safety or need treatment,” the mayor said.
The city is estimated to have about 50,000 stray dogs, though the corporation does not have precise data. The mayor said that steps will be taken to strengthen ground-level execution and reduce the number of dogs ending up on the streets over time. Discussions are underway with relevant agencies to ensure the strategy is implemented effectively, he added.
