The issue of stray dogs attacking tourists on beaches and other areas across the State echoed in the Legislative Assembly with members of the House engaging in a serious debate and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assuring of a resolution. The question is whether the issue can be resolved within three months as promised by the CM. And if yes, why was it not done so earlier given the serious implications of the issue?
If we may recall, stray dogs attacking tourists, locals and even lifeguards have been reported ever since the Covid pandemic. In the past six months, there have been 11 cases of dog bites including a cyclist, a Bollywood actor and three Dristhi lifeguards along the Betalbatim-Benaulim beach stretch. In some cases, the dog-bites have been multiple leaving victims bleeding with deep wounds. MLA Sankalp Amonkar mentioned around 120 dog bites are reported every month in Mormugao taluka.
Surprisingly, the pleas of tourism stakeholders and coastal panchayats have been completely ignored by authorities probably in the hope that the issue would resolve itself over some time. Last month a delegation of Cavelossim panchayat along with social workers submitted a memorandum to the South District Collector with a plea that stray dog attacks have become a threat to tourism along the coastal areas. The collector was apprised of a recent incident where a boy was mauled despite the presence of his parents in Colva. The Collector did call for a meeting of various departments including Tourism, Animal Husbandry, Municipalities and Panchayats, but nothing materialised.
Fishermen in the area who have been very active in rescue during dog attacks maintain that no officials of the Tourism Department visited the affected areas to understand the gravity of the situation despite being fully aware of the consequences on tourism. This newspaper has reported several cases of such incidents and has even quoted victims, families, panchayat officials, local MLAs and the fishermen's community. The life-saving staff of Dristhi, stationed at the beach, released a statement on how stray dogs have gone on a biting spree attacking them and tourists alike and pointed to how one of their staffers was bitten thrice in seconds.
On Wednesday, when the members of the House spoke, the issue flagged earlier took centerstage. There were concerns over the random feeding of stray dogs, failure to sterilise stray dogs, helplessness of panchayats and municipal bodies, demarcating of areas, involvement of the Animal Husbandry department and engagement of NGOs.
CM's intervention is certainly welcome. But it comes as a surprise that despite the severity of the issue and the adverse impact it could have on tourism, there have been no steps initiated by those who have otherwise been overprotective of tourism and were taking offence to social media influencers posting negative reels on Goa.
It is heartening that Sawant has assured a policy decision within three months while indicating that it would be on the lines of stray cattle management. However, the reluctance to address it for so long leaves one baffled. Not too long ago Sawant spoke about banning certain foreign breeds of “ferocious dogs” after an incident in Taleigao when a Rottweiler dog jumped over the gate of a house and attacked two children, leaving one seriously injured. While the CM had announced that a list of such breeds was being prepared, no such list has been issued to date.
We hope this issue will be addressed with the urgency and sensitivity it deserves and a decision taken as assured on the Floor of the House.
