Amid the nationwide debate over stray dogs, civic staff of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation are on the lookout for a stray dog that has injured 14 people so far. The latest attack occurred last evening, when the stray dog attacked an elderly man in an alley. The man has suffered injuries to his face and hands and is in hospital.
A chilling video of the attack, captured by a CCTV camera last evening, shows the elderly man walking in an alley at CIDCO township in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, earlier known as Aurangabad. A stray dog comes from the opposite end of the alley, approaches the man, and jumps at his face. The elderly man falls to the ground, and the dog continues its attack. Bystanders then intervene and scare the dog away. Another video shows injuries on the man's hands and face and drops of blood at the place where he was attacked.
Local residents have said the stray dog involved in yesterday's attack has targeted 14 people so far, but civic officials have struggled to catch the animal.
The dog attack video from Maharashtra has emerged amid a nationwide debate over the Supreme Court's order asking civic authorities in Delhi NCR to round up all stray dogs and shift them to shelters. The ruling, which followed news reports about a rise in dog bites in Delhi and other NCR cities, has now been challenged before another bench.
The top court ruling prompted massive protests by dog lovers. Others welcomed the order, citing cases of stray dogs targeting children and the elderly in residential neighborhoods.
Questions have been raised about the implementability of the order. Estimates put the total number of stray dogs in Delhi at around 10 lakh. Civic authorities, already cash-strapped, would need to build thousands of shelters to accommodate these canines. Significant funding would be required to maintain these shelters and provide for the animals.
The new bench hearing the matter has pulled up civic authorities for their failure to implement animal birth control rules, leading to this situation. The court has heard arguments on both sides and reserved its order.
