Srinagar, Mar 14: A day after the administration said that Khurshid Ahmed Mir aka Pied Piper was asking for Rs 20 crore to make the stray dogs leave Srinagar, the City man refuted the government claims.
 “I never sought Rs 20 crore from the government,” Mir who became an overnight hit in media circles for his claims to make the stray dogs leave the City without harming them, told Greater Kashmir.
 “Though I asked for Rs 30 lakh for the first municipal ward I would work in, I had kept the rates negotiable,” Mir said.
 “Besides, after my performance in the first ward, I had kept the doors open for negotiations,” he said adding “but that too would depend whether or not the government is satisfied with my performance on the pilot project.”
 Pertinently, a news agency Sunday reported that Mir was demanding Rs 30 lakh each for the 68 wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) where the population of stray dogs has crossed one lakh and have been causing problems to the humans.
 More than 5000 dog bite cases have been reported in the City since January last year with some of the cases turning fatal.
 Last month, the authorities had decided to use services of Mir for getting rid of the dog menace as long as he did not harm or kill the canines.

AWBI TEAM VISITING SRINAGAR
MEANWHILE, the SMC has decided to push forward the sterilisation process of male dogs to check the growing number of canines in the City.
 The SMC Commissioner Sheikh Mushtaq told Greater Kashmir that the civic body has approached the Animal Welfare Board of India to start the program.
 “Their team of experts is expected to arrive in Srinagar in a day or two,” the Commissioner said. Pertinently, two staffers of the SMC have been sent for specialised training for catching dogs and they are expected to train other staff before launching the sterilisation programme.  The government too seems to have been reluctant over killing of the dogs and says that sterilization was the only viable medium.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST