Special meetings to be held to address rising stray dog attacks in cities, says Maharashtra minister

Nagpur, Dec 9 (PTI) The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced that special meetings would be held to address the increasing incidents of stray dog attacks in urban areas, following demands raised across party lines in the state legislature.

The decision came after a Calling Attention Motion was raised regarding the growing threats posed by stray dogs in cities, with legislators seeking strict and urgent measures.

Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal, in a written reply, stated that Mumbai has an estimated 90,757 stray dogs, while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) operates only eight shelters.

There were around 11.88 lakh stray dogs and only 105 shelters across the 29 municipal corporation areas in the state, she said.

BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar pressed for increasing the number of shelters and asked whether vacant government plots could be used for creating additional facilities.

Misal said that the administration was complying with the Supreme Court's directions on the matter.

However, legislators cutting across party lines expressed dissatisfaction and demanded concrete steps.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu remarked that even public representatives were unsafe while visiting their constituencies due to stray dog attacks.

"Why is there so much opposition to the sterilisation of dogs? When a legislator visits his constituency, dogs chase him. The government should implement the solutions urgently," Prabhu said.

BJP legislator Mahesh Landge said animal lovers create a huge problem while dealing with the dog menace.

"In the last three years, more than one lakh dog bite cases have been reported in Pune. Stray dogs should be captured and released into the houses of these animal lovers," he said.

As the demands continued, Misal assured the House that a meeting involving concerned legislators and officials would be convened to formulate actionable measures. PTI ND ARU