Dogs halt morning walkers of Sector 10 in their tracks

CHANDIGARH: The municipal corporation failed to control the canine population. Multiplied into packs, the dogs have become many times more dangerous.

During a visit to Sector 10, a team from The Times of India gathered from the residents that they were tired of calling the civic authorities to catch the stray dogs that have become a terror in the neighbourhood because of their ferocious nature. One of the respondents said: "We have raised the issue with the authorities concerned a number of times, and so have the RWA (resident welfare association) and Foswac (Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh).

Another resident said: "Earlier the dog population in the area wasn't big enough to cause any scare. They never used to attack the visitors then. But for the past few months, since they have multiplied into packs, the situation has become worse and they now chase and attack passersby. The senior citizens, especially, have started skipping their evening walks in their neighbourhood parks, all because of the fear of being mauled by the stray dogs."

Last week, during an entrance examination in a nearby school, parents of the candidates were sitting in one of the parks of this sector when a pack of stray dogs started attacking on them. These people, who had been waiting to pick up their children after the test, had to rush out of the park. Residents told TOI about the terror on their faces.

Sector-10 councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said he complaints of dog menace had started coming even from Sectors 2, 8, and 9. "The complaints have been increasing every day," he said. Sector-10 RWA organising secretary Gurnam Singh raised the issue also in the last meeting of Foswac. He said: "Every time, when I move my car from its parking place on the roadside, I have check for any stray dog resting under it. It has happened in the past when dogs sitting under the cars attacked the vehicle owners."

