\'Mayor quit\' chorus grows louder

HYDERABAD: When a four-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi's remark that "dogs behave that way" if not fed provoked an outcry among the public, who demanded that the Mayor step down for making such insensitive and irresponsible statements.

Citizens demanding her resignation took to social media on Wednesday, using
the hashtag #GHMCMayorMustResign.  In a tweet, Dr Meghanath, a physician,
questioned the Mayor why the city has 2.5 lakh dogs, while stating, "they will never cast their vote for you. Should we file a case on the dogs and put them behind bars?”

Vyamesh, a watchman in Ganesh Nagar, claimed that at least 10 street dogs
freely roam in the colony, and get aggressive during the summer.  The GHMC
dog catching squad caught a few dogs last year, and dumped them back a week
later. "Nothing has changed since. A kid from our apartment was bitten by a dog last year.” Vajra Devi, a shopkeeper in Amberpet, stated that people in her colony had made repeated calls to the GHMC to catch the stray dogs, but to no avail. "While the GHMC keeps insisting that 'don't feed them’, some animal lovers buy biscuits from our shop and feed them. The dogs roam freely and gather near the shop knowing well that the animal lovers will feed them.”

Kanakaiah R, a retired employee and a resident of Shivam Road in Vidyanagar,
stated that he and his wife fear to venture out because of the stray dog menace.