Ropar: An eight-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a pack of stray dogs in Morinda town in Ropar district on Wednesday evening. CCTV footage reportedly recorded the incident, leading to strong public anger and fresh criticism of civic bodies over what residents describe as continued inaction against the rising stray dog problem.The child, identified as Keerti, is said to have gone to a nearby shop to buy milk when eight to ten stray dogs set upon her. Relatives said Keerti’s mother was at home caring for her elder daughter and younger son when the girl went out by herself. Keerti’s mother works as a house help. Her uncle, Sonu, stated that the dogs caused serious injuries to her head and other parts of her body.“The condition of the girl was extremely critical. She was rushed to a local hospital and referred to PGI Chandigarh, but she was declared brought dead there,” he said. The death has led to anger among local people, who alleged that the administration did not act despite repeated complaints about stray dogs in the area.After the incident, residents and former municipal representatives contacted a Mohali-based animal welfare NGO to step in. A former municipal councillor from Ward No. 1 said he had previously been feeding stray dogs in the neighbourhood and, after the attack, some residents started insisting the dogs should be killed. To avoid that and ensure the response stayed within the law, he sought the NGO’s support. He also expressed regret over the minor girl’s death. An NGO team later reached Morinda and on Friday caught about 20 stray dogs, including those suspected to be part of the aggressive group involved in the fatal incident.Newly elected Congress councillor Guncha Sood, who represents Ward No. 1 where the attack happened, said the Municipal Council currently has neither a dog-catching team nor proper equipment to handle stray dog concerns, even though the number of stray dogs has increased to around 50.“No serious efforts were made in the past to establish such a mechanism. The Municipal Council president is yet to be elected, but one of the first resolutions we intend to bring before the council will be regarding arrangements for dog-catching operations,” she said.The incident has further increased criticism of the local administration and civic authorities. Councillor Mandeep Singh Bajwa claimed officials had repeatedly disregarded warnings about the danger posed by stray dogs. “Stray dog attacks have become a frightening reality for residents. In an earlier incident, a dispute arising from a stray dog attempting to bite a youth had even escalated into a murder case. Despite frequent complaints and media reports, authorities failed to act. Now, an innocent child has lost her life,” Bajwa said.After the incident, political and social organisations, along with many residents, submitted memorandums to Morinda SDM Chetan Bangar, calling for immediate action. Councillors said the main demands included creating and enforcing a detailed policy to control the stray dog population, providing immediate financial compensation to the grieving family, and capturing and shifting dangerous stray dogs and stray cattle to identified shelters.Residents also warned they would begin a large-scale agitation if the administration did not take urgent measures to remove stray animals from residential areas and stop similar incidents in future. SDM Morinda could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.Executive officer of Municipal Council Morinda, Ravi Jindal, said, “I joined only six months ago, but to my knowledge, no proposal ever was made for sterilization of dogs. I had put some efforts by holding talks with NGOs sometime back, but the lack of space became a hurdle. Currently we do not have any dog catcher team or equipment as we do not have a sterilization center. Now, we are again holding talks with NGOs and making efforts to provide them space for sterilization of stray dogs. Best efforts will be made to provide compensation to the victim family and we’ll also go through recent guidelines of Supreme Court on stray dogs.”MSID:: 131685824 413 |
