MC officials turn a blind eye to rising dog bite cases in Mohali

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, June 17

The stray dog menace and dog-bite cases in Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, and Kharar are on the rise, and the Municipal Council chose to remain mute spectators to the residents’ woes. About 10–12 cases of dog- bites are reported in the government hospitals of Zirakpur on average, but the number of victims approaching private clinics is higher. Baltana, Dhakoli, Peermuchalla, and Pabhat residents complained that the terror of stray dogs is such that women, children, and the elderly are scared to venture out on the street in peak summer seasons.

In the evening, children desist from playing in the neighbourhood here.

Residents have been demanding MC officials operationalize the dog pound in Pabhat, which has been lying incomplete for years. “The Zirakpur MC President and Executive Officer had assured the councillors in the previous House meetings that the dog pound would be ready by January; however, June is about to end and there has been no notable progress,” said a Congress councillor.

MC officials said certain shortcomings were found in the dog pound that have been asked to be overcome, after which it would be operationalized soon.

In Kharar, a private hospital on Jhuggian Road has witnessed six cases of dog bites in the past 12 days. On June 11, Balwinder Singh, a security guard at the Balaji Homes Society, was mauled. He was administered seven stitches below his right eye, ear, and face, leaving him physically and mentally scarred. Doctors recounted that on May 31, three cases of dog bite, including a two-and-a-half-year-old victim, Harman Singh, were reported. Similar to the Zirakpur Municipal Council officials, officials of the Kharar MC are twiddling their thumbs over the setting up of a dog pound here.

The dog sterilisation campaigns in the district are in a shambles.

Dogbite committee on paper only

On November 13, 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed that the state government shall be primarily responsible for paying compensation to dog-bite victims, adding that the minimum financial assistance would be Rs 10,000 per tooth mark.

“When the flesh is removed from the skin, the compensation will be at least Rs 20,000 per 0.2 cm wound,” the court ruled. The court mandated the governments of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to set up committees headed by the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts to determine the compensation. Even though scores of dog-bite cases are reported daily, the district committee exists on paper only.