Stray dogs claim streets, posing danger





Another threat: Now that traffic is less on roads, hungry dogs roam freely on roads posing danger to passing vehicles. (Pic: Anil Futane)

Staff Reporter:

THE lockdown enforced in the city to break the chain of coronavirus spread has deserted the city roads. However, it has resulted in stray dogs openly roaming the main streets as well as internal roads, posing threat to people, especially two-wheeler riders. Most of the strays used to eat the remains thrown by hotels and small restaurants operating in various parts of the city.

The lockdown has stopped their daily food supply and search for food has made them all the more dangerous. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation sanitation staff faces the biggest risk while collecting garbage on city roads. Most of the dogs, some visibly diseased, are feeding off the leftovers in the garbage dumps. “Our first job each day is to shoo away the dogs. It is a dangerous task as hunger has made the dogs all the more menacing,” a sanitary worker shared his plight. Many NGOs and animal welfare organisations are doing their bit in feeding the dogs.

Even the policemen posted at various squares are compassionate towards the strays, feeding them biscuits and other food items. But number of such good Samaritans is too small. “Usually there were one or two strays roaming on the streets. Now we encounter a pack of dogs who chase our vehicles,” said a medical assistant in Dhantoli who rides two-wheeler. Cases of dog-bites might not have been reported but there is a lurking danger on deserted roads where there is no place to take cover if the dogs attacked.