Srinagar, June 4: Finally, the state’s top bureaucrat -Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal on Monday spoke about the dog menace at a high level meeting even as he sought a gear up in the ongoing canine sterilization at Shuhama. He also asked the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to “further improve sanitation, garbage lifting and regular sweeping across the City.”           
 The Chief Secretary, as per an official handout, while chairing a meeting with officers said that “civil society, various animal welfare organizations and government institutions should work together to solve this problem within the legal framework.”
 He said “people here should realize that the garbage thrown in the streets significantly contributes in attracting stray dogs.”
 “As such they should ensure that garbage is properly disposed off and streets and lanes are kept clean and asked the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to launch awareness in this regard,” the Chief Secretary said.
 He was informed that stray dogs especially from “Red Areas” where significant number of dog bites have been reported are caught and transported to Animal Birth Control Centre (ABC) Shuhama for their sterilization.
 Detailed deliberations were held on additional steps and interventions that can be taken within the legal framework to address the problem.
 “Matters related to fresh survey, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), creation of additional infrastructure, training of more vets and associated personnel etc also came under discussion in the meeting,” the handout said.
 The SMC has already been asking the people to keep their surroundings clean so that there’s no garbage on roadsides, a move aimed to make dogs migrate looking for food.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 5 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST