VASCO
Voicing concern after a woman was recently mauled by stray dogs at Maimolem-Vasco, councillors at the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) on Tuesday opined that a unified and permanent solution is needed to tackle the increasing number of attacks on humans by stray dogs.
Councillor Devita Arolkar, who had raised the issue at the council meeting, said it was very unfortunate that a woman from her ward had been brutally attacked by dogs.
“I have raised the issue and I am requesting the MMC chairperson to immediately convene a meeting with the People for Animals (PFA) and the animal husbandry department so that we can come to a concrete solution,” said Arolkar.
“We have faced a lot of inconvenience because this is the fifth incident in recent times where ladies and children have been attacked. People roam with sticks to protect themselves from these dogs and I even got a call this morning that the same group of stray dogs were chasing a vehicle,” said Arolkar.
MMC Councillor Vinod Kinlekar said stray dog incidents have been on the rise in his ward as well.
“Some children have been attacked by stray dogs in my ward but there has been no action as yet. A six-year-old girl was almost attacked by a stray dog when she was walking with her mother but we managed to drive away the dogs and save her life.”
“We have rules binding the stray dogs but these stray dogs attack people in the night and even jump on bikes which could lead to a horrible accident, especially if there is a child on the bike.”
Kinlekar said the PFA, MMC and Animal Husbandry must have a joint meeting and also have a special meeting with all councillors so that the issue can be resolved.
“The PFA is doing its best but they may have shortage of funds and the government must intervene and try to help resolve the stray dogs issue in Vasco. People must also refrain from feeding raw meat to stray dogs and serve cooked food instead,” said Kinlekar.
