Irked by the laxity on the part of the government and enforcement agencies in reining in the stray dog menace, the anti-stray dog movement is planning to launch an elaborate exercise involving hundreds of ‘people’s collectives’ in Ernakulam.
Official start
Come November 1 and the movement will get an official start with members staging a dharna in front of the Kochi Corporation office.
“We want to take the movement to a bigger level. We are getting tremendous support from the public, who are fed up with the rising incidents of deaths and injuries caused by stray dogs,” said Jose Maveli, a key campaigner.
The movement is planning to launch people’s collectives in each local body. Mr. Maveli said the groups would include people from various walks of life. “The aim is to form collectives involving people from various walks of life. The stray dog menace has turned alarming. We have no other option but to launch a bigger movement demanding the eradication of the dog menace,” he said.
Each collective will identify areas affected by the menace. They will form squads to keep vigil against animals attacking people. The anti-stray dog movement will also offer legal aid to persons who take the lead in culling stray dogs.
Public protest
The move to form people’s collectives received a boost, after the public opposed attempts to arrest the members of the anti-stray dog movement at Varkala, where an elderly man died after being attacked by stray dogs. Mr. Maveli urged dog lovers to come forward and provide shelters to stray dogs, rather than issuing statements that stray dogs should not be culled.
“Who will take care of the commoner on the streets who has no one for support after being attacked by stray dogs?” he asked.
