On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta vowed to handle the increasing stray dog problem in the capital by resorting to fast action, saying she would be aggressive enough to deal with the issue. Describing the issue as gigantic, Gupta has promised her government to roll out a full systematic policy, which guarantees the safety of the people, as the government will follow the directives of the court to the letter.
A directive issued earlier by the Supreme Court requires that stray dogs be caught and kept in special shelters and not freed into the streets. It instructed governments of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram to install requisite facilities that accommodate at least 5,000 dogs and are capable of sterilisation, vaccination and more. The shelters are to be observed on CCTV, and the court advised that anybody hindering the take-in of the strays would undergo contempt prosecution.
At a press conference, Gupta emphasised that people of Delhi have had to live with the menace of stray dogs long enough and that deaths caused by rabies and a recent number of dog bite cases are creating fear among people. “We want our streets to be safe for everyone and above all, children and senior citizens.” She said, “People ought to feel safe when they are walking in their neighbourhoods.”
Gupta also ensured that the policy would not be biased between treating animals humanely and protecting the general population. This comes after remarks by Delhi minister Kapil Mishra last week, who has vowed a humane yet firm plan.
The intervention of the court follows a suo motu case, which was registered on July 28, following several deaths as a result of dog attacks, including that of a six-year-old girl at Pooth Kalan. Six weeks later, it will reconsider the issue and hope that the Delhi government will have shown substantial progress towards strays removal and sheltering, and, in an attempt to provide better safety, will have implemented the required measures.
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