Women living in Rani Street at VOC Nagar here dread coming out of their houses to draw ‘kolam’ early in the morning owing to stray dog menace.
The women say the minute they step out of their houses, the dogs start barking. The stray dog menace poses many other problems to the residents of VOC Nagar in Melamadai (Ward 30). Kavitha, a resident, says “We are scared to let our children play outside since they invariably end up getting chased by the dogs. The children who walk back home after getting dropped by their school buses are in constant fear of getting attacked. We are forced to keep our children confined to the house.”
The residents say most of the 25-odd stray dogs make their way into their compounds as well. “Many dogs come into our compounds when they have a litter of pups and don’t let anyone near them. They also chase vehicles that pass by at night,” another resident said, and added that most dogs kept barking late in the night and fight among themselves.
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When contacted, ward councillor A. Jayakumar said, “All the dogs were vaccinated during the recent anti-rabies drive. Of late, there are many complaints of dog menace from the residents. The Corporation is taking steps to catch the stray dogs and release them in another area where there aren’t many houses within the next few days,” he added.