The children requested the court for directions to the authorities to shift the dogs from their residential area to somewhere else. (Source: Express archives) The children requested the court for directions to the authorities to shift the dogs from their residential area to somewhere else. (Source: Express archives)

Taking notice of letters sent by five Mohali school students regarding the dog menace in their locality, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday issued notices of motion to the Punjab and Haryana governments and the Chandigarh Administration to file their replies.

The letters were sent by Sejal Verma, Arjun Chauhan, Lepakshi, Mehul and Karamveer, all residents of New Sunny Enclave in Sector 125 of Greater Mohali.

The children said that there were 30 to 40 stray dogs in their residential area and, because of the fear of dogs, they could not go out of their houses for outdoor games and other physical activities.

Sejal, a class 7 student of St. Soldier International Convent School, stated in her letter that one bitch gave birth to eight pups, but all of them were crushed under vehicles one by one. After this, the dogs became more dangerous and ferocious and often barked at night. She added that again a bitch had given birth to eight puppies after which it had become dangerous.

Arjun, a class 5 student of Ashiana Public School, who also lives in Sejal’s residential society, raised the same issues.

In her letter, 10-year-old Lepakshi stated that one day when she was returning home from school, a dog started barking at her and chased her. She said that a dog had bitten one of her friends, Tarah.

The children requested the court for directions to the authorities to shift the dogs from their residential area to somewhere else.

The children had sent their letters to the Chief Justice in November and December last year. These were marked to administrative judge of Rupnagar division Justice A K Mittal who has recommended that the children’s complaint be treated as a public interest litigation.

The petition came up for hearing before a division bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and P B Bajanthri, which ordered that it should be listed along with a pending petition of Chandigarh resident Gurmukh Singh highlighting the dog menace in the city.

The case will come up for hearing on April 7.

Court notice to UT following petition on sterilisation programme

The court of Civil Judge Junior Division Shilpi Gupta on Friday issued notices to the UT Home Secretary-cum Health Secretary, MC Commissioner and Chandigarh’s Mayor following a petition seeking immediate initiation of the sterilisation programme for the stray dogs in the city. The case has been adjourned till May 4.

The petitioners — advocate Arvind Thakur; Shiv Murti, president of the Global Human Rights counsel, an NGO; and Shiv Kumar, editor of a vernacular newspaper— have also sought confinement of all dogs in the city in a dog pound so that attacks by stray dogs can be prevented. According to the petition, Thakur was the victim of a stray dog attack in October 2012. The petition also refers to former District and Sessions Judge of Chandigarh, K K Garg, who was also hospitalised for the same. “The defendants are not making proper arrangements and are not adopting appropriate manners to get rid of attacks by stray dogs”, reads the petition.

As per the petition, the hospitals in the UT are also not “fully toned up” for rabies vaccinations. The petitioners have also blamed the respondents to be “mere spectators” to the problem which is a threat to the lives of the residents.

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