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Delhi stray dog issue: Maneka Gandhi says poor people get bitten by dogs because…
Maneka Gandhi says the relocation of stray dogs for increased dog bites. She blames the MCD for failing to implement Supreme Court directives
Delhi’s escalating dog wars is a man-made crisis that, like all crises, affects the poor.
"Rich RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) pay to have dogs picked up from their streets, and the municipal corporation quietly throws them into poorer colonies. Who gets bitten? The rich are not getting bitten. It’s the poor and lower middle class people who get bitten by dogs, because the dogs have been relocated into their colonies. The MCD has made a business out of it. Affluent roads do not have many dogs and colonies like Rohini are overrun with dogs,” says former Union Minister and animal rights advocate Maneka Gandhi.
Forced relocation has left both strays and residents stressed and aggressive, she notes. “99% dog bites happen because of relocation. Imagine you have five dogs in your area. Overnight, 30 more are thrown into your colony. You will be agitated whether or not you love animals,” Gandhi says, adding, “In an overcrowded, overpopulated country, there is a lot of pent up anger that comes out on weaker beings like children, animals and even trees. ”
Also Read | Why removal of dogs creates more problems than it solves: Maneka Gandhi
Gandhi observes, “A lot of people are using dogs as an excuse to hit each other. In an overcrowded, overpopulated country, there is a lot of pent up anger, right? And this anger needs to come out on somebody. It comes out on the weaker beings. So they target children, animals and even trees. ”
The violence against dogs and feeders continue. “The side that does not want animals is still extremely aggressive for no reason. They have not understood the law, and one by one, we are having to bring in police to make them understand,” feels Gandhi.
The Supreme Court has asked for dedicated feeding zones and until that has been announced, it has left room for conflict.
She explains, “What you have got is a situation where feeders who are now legally allowed to feed are being pursued by people who do not let them feed. For instance in Rohini, two boys were beaten up and all their belongings stolen by a man who is a government school teacher. He stole their belongings, beat them up, and beat one of their dogs to death!"
“So a lot of violence is now because they have not understood that the Supreme Court has said until the boards get put up, feeders can feed wherever they want to or wherever they used to feed,” points out Gandhi.
And the blame of failure lies squarely with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), says Gandhi.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s order asking that MCD designates feeding spaces, they have not put up a single board. The MCD is in contempt of court. They are defying the court’s ruling,” says Gandhi, who is the founder of People For Animals.
She points out that the blame of failure lies squarely with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD): “Despite the Supreme Court’s order asking that the MCD designate feeding spaces, they have not put up a single board. The MCD is in contempt of court.”
Gandhi asserts that this stems from a system problem. “Animal Birth Control centres (ABC) are crumbling and dogs come out sicker. In Delhi, some ABCs have are being handled by friends and relatives of MCD personnel or even retired MCD people. They are being treated as money-making ventures.”
She adds, "The ABC centers in Delhi are in dilapidated shape. Dogs come back sicker because the centres are unhygienic and in bad shape. The dogs that come out of their will be aggressive because they are in pain! WE can learn from cities like Lucknow. Lucknow has one ABC centre and it works magnificently. The stray dog problem is down by 70%.”
For Gandhi, the way forward is clear: stop relocation, do sterilisation properly, and enforce the court’s orders. “They need to put up the boards at feeding zones on a war-footing!
