Sterilisation only way out

The only slution to the problem of the ever-increasing stray dog population is sterilisation as you just cannot kill animals. According to information available, it was decided a long time back by the authorities concerned to carry out a massive campaign to sterilise stray dogs. But apparently, there had been some gap in the translation of the decision from official files to the ground. The sterilisation has to be carried out under hygienic conditions and in an effective manner. The authorities concerned need to desist from entering into a numbers game and performing roadside operations that fail to deliver the results desired. The vital thing in the process is the will on the part of the authorities to tackle the problem.~

Justice GC Mittal, former Chief Justice of Delhi and Rajasthan High Courts

Plans only on paper

Though the authorities keep claiming that they are doing enough to control the dog menace in the city, it seems on the streets that the projects are more on paper and less on the ground. There is no control on the dog population in the city. I had an encounter when my puppy was attacked by a stray dog at a park in the neighbourhood. Why are the authorities not constructing a dog pound where they can keep those after sterilisation? Residents can then be spared the fear of the dog menace and dogs will get a proper place to stay and be looked after properly.~

Meera Singh, resident of Sector 4

Need to amend Act

The animal protection Act needs to be amended to deal with the growing problem posed by stray dogs in the city. Stringent provisions of the Act have actually contributed to the problem of stray dogs. As of now, dogs are exceptionally favoured in India compared to other animals. There is no ban on eating animals except the cow, which is considered sacred. Steps should be initiated to make dogs sexually inactive. The municipal corporation should make arrangements for maintaining those. This can be done by setting up dog pounds. Garbage disposal by hotels and eateries in backlanes needs to be checked as it provides eating grounds.

Justice JS Sekhon, former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge and Punjab State Human Rights Commission member

Situation out of hand

I was appointed amicus curiae by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to assist the Bench on the issue of stray dogs about a decade back. Recommendations were made and some of suggestions were implemented. But the situation, over the years, has turned threatening and gone out of hand. Societies for the welfare of animals do not allow their removal and the authorities concerned are just not taking care of those. The problem is unique when it comes to stray dogs as you cannot even hold owners liable in case of dog-bite. The solution lies in the setting up of dog pounds so that those can be taken care of under one roof.~

ML Sarin, senior advocate and social activist

Stringent law needed

The UT Administration should draft a stringent law that if the municipal corporation fails to sterilise stray dogs and provide a safe life to residents of the city, a hefty fine should be imposed on the civic body. It is the responsibility of the corporation to manage stray dogs and if it cannot manage those, it should eliminate those from the city. Why should residents pay for the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities in handling stray dogs? A dog pound should be constructed by the authorities, where those can be kept properly. Stern norms should be put in place for pet-owners if they fail to manage their pets which create nuisance on the streets. Dogs should be taken away from the owners who fail to keep their pets properly~

— Col AS Algh, resident of Sector 36

Go sectorwise with timeframe

The municipal corporation should arrange a mobile van, along with infrastructure and experts who can sterilise stray dogs wherever those are found, to avoid the lengthy procedure of catching and transporting those to NGOs for sterilisation. The authorities should go sectorwise to sterilise stray dogs with a set timeframe in which to cover the whole of the sector rather than a pick-and-choose policy in other areas. The authorities should hire private doctors for assisting the authorities complete the dog-sterilisation target in the next three months, which will help control the dog population. The authorities hired private doctors earlier, but they quit due to some financial controversy. If the system is to be revived, payment to do tors should be on time

DD Bhalla, resident of Sector 36

The method of injection

The existing sterilisation system adopted by the authorities for stray dogs has a lengthy procedure. Even the authorities are not well-equipped with it. It is not feasible to sterilise the mushrooming dog population in the city. Recommending an alternative, the animal welfare board has approved another way of sterilisation, introduced by an Ahmedabad-based company, in which an injection is enough and surgery is not required. This technique has being adopted in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Unless the agenda item to control the dog population is on the priority list of the authorities, it cannot be successful in the city~

— Dr GC Bansal, former MOH, municipal corporation

Corporation and residents should coordinate

The problem and the solution are both in society. The municipal corporation could provide infrastructure to control the stray dog population, but local residents have to assist the authorities in identifying dogs in their areas. Without the cooperation of the residents, the animal-birth control programme of stray dogs cannot be successful. The solution to the mushrooming of stray dogs lies with society as it has to be a little alert. Whenever someone finds a new stray dog in the area, he or she should inform the corporation and ask it to sterilise the animal. The purpose is only to control the dog population and not to finish it. The joint venture of resident welfare associations and the SPCA can be a step forward in the effective implementation of the sterilisation of dogs.~

Dr RN Batish, SPCA chairman and founder

Big campaign only answer

For effective control over the stray dog population, a big campaign is the only answer. By employing a large number of workers and veterinarians, dogs from a big area should be brought to a pound in one go and released after sterilisation. A fixed timeframe has to be earmarked for completing the campaign for optimum results. For this, coordination between government agencies, local departments and NGOs in a big way is required. The finances required for the purpose should be allocated in advance as any break in the campaign will dilute the efforts made~

— Dr MR Singla, in charge, Pet Care Centre, Panchkula

Chandigarh better than other cities

}Dogs are territorial by nature. Terming those stray are injustice as those are serving society. Those resist the entry of strangers in residential areas and markets. For controlling the population, a sterilisation process on a large scale is the only answer. At least 70 per cent of such dogs should be sterilised in a short and fixed period to get good results. As a consolation for us, the city is a much better place when it comes to the number of stray dogs. The stray dog estimate in the city is less than 1:100, against the national average of 1:50. In Srinagar, the situation is worse as the number of dogs is as high as 1:10 because of easy availability of biowaste. In Chandigarh, the municipal corporation is in a better position to tackle the problem in an effective and systematic way, provided earnest efforts are made~

— Dr JC Kochhar, SPCA president

Everybody should contribute

Rather than indulging in a blame game, the authorities, local NGOs and residents should come forward to control the dog menace in the city. If each house adopts a stray dog, the problem in identifying those for sterilisation and vaccination will be over in the next two months. As a dog-lover, I feel that the population of stray dogs should be controlled, not only because residents believe that those are a nuisance, but also because stray dogs are facing the problem of improper food and shelter. I think that every dog in the city should be sterilised so that neither dogs, nor human beings face a problem~

— Veena Khari, animal-lover and resident of Sector 22

No initiative by authorities

The perception of stray dogs is incorrect as a majority of those are taken as a menace, but the question is why dogs are considered a threat. Till date, no initiative has been taken by the authorities to provide those temporary shelters, where those can get food and water. The need of the hour is to construct temporary shelters for stray dogs at parks or vacant land in each sector. The management of those speechless creatures is in the hands of the authorities and residents, but elimination is not a solution~

— Arvinder Singh, animal-lover and resident of Sector 35

Care and funds can help

Our religion teaches us that around 10 per cent of the share of our income should be spent on animals. If this is followed by a few of us, the issue of stray dogs can be managed easily. A little care and some funds can help society manage those speechless creatures, which want nothing but concern. Volunteers from each sector for the adoption of dogs are the only solution, besides sterilisation~

— Bias Narayan, animal-lover and resident of Sector 35

Civic body not doing enough

What the municipal corporation is doing is not adequate to manage the dog menace in the city. The problem is widespread and the corporation has limited resources. By hiring two organisations for sterilising dogs, the authorities feel that they have enough resources to handle the menace. The authorities should hire more NGOs or private doctors for the sterilisation of stray dogs because as soon as this project is completed, this problem will be controlled. Residents can only identify stray dogs in their areas, but to get those operated upon, the corporation needs infrastructure, which is inadequate. As a result, it has to depend on the two organisations it has hired for the purpose. The average capacity of these organizations is to sterilise 20 dogs a day, due to which there is slow implementation of the programme~

— DS Sandhu, nominated councillor, municipal corporation

Do away with the nuisance

If the authorities fail to control the dog menace in the city, why do they not do away with the dogs which are creating a problem for residents? I am also a pet-lover and have a pet at my place, but it is not creating any nonsense for residents around me. While stray dogs are creating a nuisance, the municipal corporation should decided whether to save stray dogs or human beings, who are being attacked by those everyday. Stringent action should be taken by the civic body to control the canine population, lest society is at the mercy of dogs~

— Pammi Sodhi, resident of Kansal village

Chandigarh, May 12
Although 10 dog-bite cases are reported a day, the municipal corporation (MC) has not maintained adequate stock of the anti-rabies vaccine to treat victims free of cost at its health centres.

The stock required for the treatment of rabies has been exhausted since April 15, 2011, at all public-sector health facilities in the city.

The requirement of 22,000 vials was sent to the Chandigarh health department and the MC health officer in March, but so far, it had not been met.

Persons visiting the centres for treatment had to buy the vaccine, costing Rs 350 per vial, from private medical shops and bring it along with them.

The facility of injecting the vaccine, priced at Rs 1,750, and the application of the human serum (immunoglobulin serum), costing Rs 22,500 for an adult, was available at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16, the Civil Hospital in Mani Majra, the community health centre in Sector 22, the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32 and the PGI.

The sensitivity test and application facility of the animal serum (equine serum), costing Rs 5, was available at the dispensary in Sector 19, the only anti-rabies clinic in the region.

When contacted, MC Commissioner VP Singh said action to provide the vaccine at the dispensary would be taken at the earliest as the budget for this year had been allocated.

Chandigarh, May 12
Two suicides were reported today in the city. While a 25-year-old youth committed suicide by shooting himself with a country made pistol, a 17-year-old boy committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence.

Nidesh Sharma, a resident of Sector 43, committed suicide in Sector 27 by shooting himself on the stomach with a country made pistol, which was recovered near his body.

According to the police, the victim had an altercation with his mother on Friday after which he left home and could not be traced by his family members. The police stated that the victim had estranged relationship with his mother and sister, which is suspected as the reason behind the suicide. A suicide-note was also found near the body stating that his body should be handed over to his friends and not his family.

Panchkula, May 12
Two persons were killed on the spot while 28 others sustained injuries, two of them seriously, when a private bus coming from Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh overturned and fell into a village pond near Raipurrani today.

The two victims have been identified as Chattar Singh, a resident of Ladwan, and Master Raman Singh, a resident of Hayun Durbal in Himachal Pradesh. Out of the 28 injured, 20 were discharged from Raipurrani Public Health Centre while six were referred to the Sector-6 General Hospital.

The injured have been identified as Nirmala, her daughter Nirmala, Jagdish and his wife Dimchali, Urmila, Krishanpla, Chunni, Sandhya, Chunni Devi, Mamta, Prakasho, Rajesh, Asha, Pazmi, Sushil, Inder Singh, Kamla, Uma, Nathu Ram, Leela, Taro, Tulsi, Gian Chand Protima, Ghanori, Kimma and Ram.

As per information, 42 passengers had boarded the private tourist bus on Friday from Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh and were on a religious tour to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri.

The passengers alleged that the driver of the bus was receiving bouts of sleep and the incident occurred when the bus hit a tree and fell into the dry pond in Manaktabra village at about 4.15 am. The people living in the surrounding area reached the spot to help the victims. 

Investigating officer Baldev said the driver lost control over the bus and it hit a tree before rolling into the pond resulting in the death of two passengers on the spot. A case has been registered against the bus driver and a probe is on. Civil Surgeon Dr VK Bansal said every possible medical help was being provided to the injured and added that one of the seriously injured had been referred to the PGI. 

Chandigarh, May 12
Teachers’ evaluation at Panjab University (PU) would finally see the light of the day with students rating teachers over various parameters, including communication abilities, punctuality and response to queries. The feedback pro forma has been finalised by the university and has been sent to the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA).

In the feedback form the students can also evaluate a teacher depending upon his or her behaviour in classroom. The students can now give suggestions to improve the curriculum.

The Panjab University Campus Student Council president, Pushpinder Sharma, said the students would be giving points out of ten in each column in the feedback form.

“Students having minimum of 75 per cent attendance would be eligible to give their feedbacks that would remain between the teacher and student,” Sharma said.

Sharma also said the pro forma has been approved by all the members of the committee formed by the university except PUTA president who had not attended the final meeting. The pro forma has been sent to the PUTA by the Dean Student Welfare (DSW).

PUTA president Akshay Kumar said PUTA has agreed to the eligibility of the students for giving feedbacks, however, the pro forma would be discussed in the PUTA Board of Executive meeting.

DSW AS Ahluwalia said the committee, which has already approved the pro forma, would wait for the suggestions from the PUTA and finally the feedback form would be sent to Dean University Instructions (DUI).

“Efforts are being made to introduce the feedback system from the current session. As soon as the DUI gives the node, a copy of the feedback form will be sent to the teachers. Then the students will be asked to fill the form after the exams,” DSW said.

PUCSC president said if the university fails to introduce the feedback system from this session they would start the feedback on their own. 

Intelligaia will provide and develop OEM applications for the new UBUSlate7 series of tablets that were launched in Delhi recently. Those who have booked Akash tablets have been promised the upgraded UBISlate tablets by Datawind, and these will now have Intelligaia's preloaded applications that can teach Hindi and English.

Intelligaia's elearning applications for Indian languages have been selected for the UBISlate tablets, and besides the pre-loaded applications, users can get applications that teach them Bengali Gujarati and Gurmukhi.

Intelligaia's executive director Rajiv Kaul says: "We found that no one was teaching children how to form and pronounce alphabets and numbers the right way. So we created these applications that have usable and child friendly design - they have a forgiving design that accommodates all the mistakes a child may make. At the same time, we force a discipline on the child and ensure that they learn to form alphabets the right way without any supervision."

"We are very excited to be part of this revolution that will bring learning and the power of the Internet to millions of people in India. Tablets and mobile phones make the Internet accessible to hundreds of thousands of Indians. Because of their convenience, they are ideal platforms for applications that entertain while educating users." 

Mohali, May 12
Fiza, the deserted wife of former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister, Chander Mohan, today alleged that an official investigating the case related to an attack by her neighbours about four months ago was helping the suspects by leaking important information linked with the case.

On January 11, Fiza was injured in a bloody clash with her neighbours over a petty issue of the latter’s children playing cricket in a park near her house. The neighbour, Sanjay Aggarwal, his wife, Neeru, and their three children also sustained injuries in the clash. While Fiza was admitted to the GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh, with head injuries, Sanjay Aggarwal was admitted to the Government Civil Hospital, Phase VI, here.

Fiza accused a senior police officer of leaking vital information relating to the inquiry report to the opposite party. She claimed that a copy of the report was thrown into her house even before it had reached the authorities concerned. 

Chandigarh, May 12
Even as the mercury continues to rise, city residents, especially those living in the southern sectors are facing unscheduled power cuts for the past 10 days. Fault in supply lines and repair work being carried out by the electricity department are said to be the reasons behind power cuts.

In the sectors like 15, 20, 39, 45, 46, 48, 49 and 52, the residents are the worst sufferers. Preeti Negi, a class XII student and a resident of Sector 45-D, said that for the past one week there had been two to six hours power cuts in her sector. It had become difficult for her to concentrate on her studies in the absence of proper power supply.

Deepa, an employee with a mobile firm and a resident of Sector 39, said that for the past few days, they were witnessing power cuts during night hours. She suggested that authorities should at least ensure full power supply during the night hours and if they want to impose cuts they could do it during morning hours. Similarly, Nishu of Sector 20, said that in the absence of power, it becomes difficult to handle children as well.

Meanwhile, senior officials of the electricity department maintained that due to overload sometimes fault occurred in the supply lines, which resulted in power cuts. Besides, in some areas, the department was carrying out repair work therefore the residents were facing some problems.

Mohali, May 12
From now on, residents of the town will have to pay more for getting no-objection certificates or other property related documents from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority.

After a gap of about 17 years, GMADA has increased the processing fee from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 for residential properties while for commercial properties, the rates have been revised from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.

Terming the revision of rates anti-public, Shalinder Anand, chairman, Mohali Property Consultant Association, said instead of revising the processing fee, the authority should introduce the "tatkal" system. "Under the system, residents will not have to pay any amount for getting their work done. Otherwise the processing fee is nothing than a financial burden on a customer," added Anand. The rates were last revised in1995.

Chandigarh, May 12
International Nurses Day was celebrated in tricity hospitals to commemorate the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. At PGIMER, Chandigarh, International Nurses Week began here today.

The theme this year is, “Closing the gap: from evidence to action.” Tributes were paid to Florence Nightingale. The function started with a prayer song and Professor Yogesh Chawla, Director, PGIMER, lighted the lamp.

During the week, various educational activities, including symposium based on the theme, best emergency competition, poster competition, and health teachings in various OPDs will be organised

At Government Multi Speciality Hospital, the International Nurses Week - 2012 was inaugurated in the School of Nursing.The celebration was inaugurated by Dr G Dewan, Deputy Medical Superintendent, and principal Amarjeet Kaur.

The student nurses presented a cultural show. In the evening, nursing students created a colourful rangoli at the Sukhna Lake to spread the message about HIV/ AIDS awareness.

General Hospital, Panchkula, celebrated the valedictory function and role play on the theme was presented by nursing students of the Amar Professional School. The week started with the screening programme.

Around 70 staff nurses were screened and only 30 per cent were found healthy. A blood donation camp was organised by the blood bank of the hospital.

Awards were presented to 30 staff nurses and nursing sisters.