Stray dog menace haunts cantonment residents

Hyderabad: Residents of Secunderabad cantonment are an annoyed lot as they have to bear ‘stray dog nuisance’, especially the continuous barking every evening. Often obstructing vehicular movement in sub-arterial roads, the stray animals are a constant threat during peak hours on even busy roads.

“In what is a clear case of lethargy, Cantonment authorities are moving slowly in sterilising dogs and it has been over six months since any dog-catching team visited our area,” said Ramesh Kumar, a resident of a weaker section colony in Trimulgherry and who runs a laundry. Sterilisation drives should be taken up at regular intervals, he added.

Dr Atul Pranay, a veterinary doctor attached to Secunderabad cantonment board (SCB), said that catching of dogs in the area is rather haphazard. “As we do not have professional dog catchers, we are able to sterilise an average of just five to ten dogs per day and around 200 every month,” he said.

Pushpendra Kumar Gupta, an SCB sanitary inspector, said that the sterilisation process is being carried out with the support of nine NGOs.

In areas like Manovikas Nagar and SBI colony, morning and evening walkers are compelled to shy away from certain stretches in order to avoid the dog menace. Women and children are particularly worried when they come out.

Residents of Sai Baba colony in Seetharam Puram, Royal Enclave and Mahatma Nagar in Bowenpally complain that in the absence of regular sterilisation there has been a steady rise of stray dogs in the surroundings.

“Packs of dogs are gathering on the streets during nights and spreading fear with their barking. We are all spending sleepless nights,” complained Vanisri, a homemaker.