Stray dogs menace on rise in Chandigarh

Stray dogs menace has been on the rise in Chandigarh as over two dozen people, including a few children, fell victims to dog bites within last two days in different parts of the City.
People of southern and the central sectors of the City have been the worst affected by the menace.
"I fear sending out my children to play outside. Moreover, the parks, including the Animal Park near my home, are filled with stray dogs and we cannot allow the children to go out without adult supervision," Manish Gupta, a resident of sector 49-D here, said.
He blamed the Municipal Corporation officials for not taking the problem seriously thus allowing the menace to rise in the recent years.

Municipal Corporation officials, however, maintained that during the past five years, close to 7,000 stray dogs have been sterlised and vaccinated against the rabies.
Punjab and Haryana High Court is currently hearing a petition against the stray dogs menace.
The population of stray dogs in the City has been on the rise in recent years, rising from 5,713 about five years back to nearly 8,000 at present, according to the officials.
From January 2013 to April this year, over 8,000 cases of dog bites were reported in the rabies vaccination clinic in Sector 19 here, majority of them being bites from stray dogs.