Mohali: Stray dog menace and dog bite cases are on the rise in Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Kharar and the municipal council has remained a mute spectator to the woes of residents. On an average, around 10-12 dog bite cases are registered in government hospitals in Zirakpur, but the number of victims visiting private clinics is higher. Residents of Baltana, Dhakoli, Peermuchhalla and Pabhat complained that the menace of stray dogs is so much that women, children and the elderly are scared to step out on the road in the summer season. Children shy away from playing here in the evening. Residents are demanding municipal authorities to operationalise the dog pound at Pabhat, which has been lying incomplete for years. A Congress councillor said, “The chairman and executive officer of Zirakpur Municipal Corporation had assured the councillors in the last house meetings that the dog pound would be ready by January; but June is about to end and there has been no significant progress.” Municipal officials said that some deficiencies have been found in the dog pound, which have been asked to be removed, after which it will be started soon.
In a private hospital located on Jhuggian Road in Kharar, six cases of dog bites have been reported in the last 12 days. On June 11, Balaji Homes Society security guard Balwinder Singh was seriously injured. Seven stitches were put on his right eye, ear and below the face, due to which he was physically and mentally injured. Doctors said that on May 31, three cases of dog bites were reported, in which two and a half year old child Harman Singh was also involved. Like the officials of Zirakpur Municipal Corporation, the officials of Kharar Municipal Corporation are also indifferent about making a dog pound here. The condition of dog sterilization campaign in the district is bad.
Dog bite committee only on paper
On November 13, 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed that the primary responsibility for compensating dog bite victims would rest with the state government, adding that the minimum financial assistance would be Rs 10,000 per bite mark. “When flesh is removed from the skin, the compensation shall be at least Rs 20,000 per 0.2 cm wound,” the court ruled. The court ordered 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 compensation. Though several dog bite cases are reported every day, the district committee exists only on paper.
