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Ludhiana DC orders designated feeding points for strays after rabid dog attack
Move aims to improve public safety administration, depts told to ramp up sterilisation of stray dogs in villages
Ludhiana In the wake of a rabid dog attack that mauled a 10-year-old boy and injured several others in Gandhi Colony near Model Gram Railway Station, deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain on Tuesday ordered identification of designated feeding points for stray dogs in urban and rural areas. The decision, involving the municipal corporation and the department of rural development and panchayats, aims to curb rising incidents of stray dog aggression by promoting regulated feeding and enhancing public safety.
Chairing a meeting with officials from the municipal corporation, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), rural development and panchayats, health, animal husbandry, police, society for prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCA) and other stakeholders, Jain stressed strict adherence to Supreme Court guidelines. He directed the departments concerned to map suitable feeding zones, noting that stray dogs live in packs and rarely cross into another pack’s territory in search of food.
He said designated feeding points would help reduce hunger-driven aggression, promote a calmer stray dog population and prevent unregulated feeding at public places, which often leads to safety concerns and inconvenience to residents. Jain also instructed civic body officials to ensure cleanliness is maintained at all designated feeding locations.
The deputy commissioner also sought detailed reports on the deployment of dog-catching teams and ongoing sterilisation efforts under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme at designated centres. He further directed the department of rural development and panchayats to hold discussions with sarpanches to facilitate sterilisation of stray dogs in villages.
Jain also asked the health department to ensure uninterrupted availability of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin at all hospitals, adding that all dog bite cases must be reported immediately to the district administration. A dedicated control room will be set up shortly, along with the launch of a public helpline.
Addressing road safety concerns, the deputy commissioner instructed the civic body, NHAI and rural development departments to remove stray cattle from highways and roads and shift them to the government cattle pound (gaushala) at Burj Powat village to prevent accidents.
He said progress on these measures would be reviewed every Tuesday and necessary action be taken based on the performance of the departments.
