M. Chandramani, a Bharathi Park resident, wants the Coimbatore Corporation to act fast against the stray dog menace in the area.
The elderly woman has said that the recent alarming increase in the number of the mongrels has put fear in the minds of the residents, particularly children.
The latter felt unsafe on the roads.
Not just that there have instances of the dogs attacking the residents as well.
R. Raveendran, a resident of G.V. Residency too faces a similar problem.
He says that at evenings the dogs did not spare anyone who chose to walk or cycle in the locality.
In Manis Nagar, Nanjundapuram Road, Tatabad, and Vadavalli too the residents echo the problem.
The residents say they were forced to believe that the Corporation was doing little because stray dog menace continues to be a perennial problem with no end in sight.
The Coimbatore Corporation is supposed to catch, sterilise, and release the dogs. It has an animal birth control centre in Seeranaickenpalayam, which is managed by Humane Animal Society and People For Animals.
Sources say that the centre has a capacity to perform surgery on 250 dogs a month and that is not enough to make an impact on the city’s population.
A rough estimate suggests that the city could have between 75,000 and one lakh stray dogs.
To tackle the problem, the Corporation announced in 2012 that it would set up an animal care centre with all facilities at its dump yard in Vellalore.
But nothing has happened since the announcement by the Mayor S.M. Velusamy.
Animal rights activists say that unless the Corporation creates such a facility, it will be difficult to curb stray dog menace because the number of surgeries is not enough.
S. Thamarai Selvi, Chairperson, Committee on Health, says that the civic body was aware of the residents’ problems and is initiating steps to provide a solution.
Given the complaints, the Corporation will do well to have animal birth control centres in each of the five zones so that the number of dogs operated and taken care of goes up drastically.
She is planning to take up the issue with the Mayor and Commissioner, she says.
Even as the work is in progress, the civic body will work with animal rights organisation to ensure that the dog menace is controlled, says Ms. Selvi.
