Kochi: An emergency meeting will be held in Ernakulam on Tuesday in the presence of Union minister, K.V. Thomas to draw up an action plan to fight the menace of stray dogs in the district.
Representatives of the district administration, local self governments, animal husbandry department and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will put their heads together to come out with the best plan to keep the dogs off the streets.
The District Development Council (DDC) which met at the civil station in Kochi on Saturday, decided to hold the brainstorming after several of those present spoke of the attack on a morning walker by strays in Thiruvananthapuram earlier in the day and demanded action.
Many also noted that Kochi had seen several dog attacks over the past few weeks, especially in Vypeen where at least 20 were injured, one of them seriously, by strays in one day. A special squad is likely to be formed at Tuesday’s meeting with members from all the departments concerned, to deal with the dogs and sterilize them where possible.
Meanwhile the Kochi Corporation has decided to resume its Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. “We last conducted the programme over a year ago and need to resume it as the stray dog menace is being reported from various parts of the city. We want to sterilise both male and female dogs,” said T.K. Asharaf, chairman of the corporation health standing committee.
