Srinagar, Aug 24 : Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called for a focused, coordinated and humane response to the growing stray dog menace in Srinagar on Monday.
He directed the concerned departments and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to make the issue a top priority and work towards tangible results.
Chairing a review meeting on the issue, the chief minister observed that the stray dog menace has become one of the foremost concerns for Srinagar residents, affecting citizens’ daily lives and sense of security.
According to official data, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed more than two lakh dog bite cases in the past two years. Jammu district alone has reported nearly 40 per cent of the dog bite cases while the numbers in Srinagar district are comparatively low — around 12 per cent.
Abdullah questioned why the relatively better implementation of animal birth control in Jammu has not been replicated in Kashmir. “Within the same territory, we have achieved around 80 per cent sterilisation in Jammu, while Srinagar has not been able to make comparable progress. If it can be done in Jammu, we should be able to replicate that success in Srinagar,” the chief minister said.
Abdullah assured government support for the resources needed to undertake the work sustainably.
He directed officials to take immediate action on the ground to address the dog menace, including measures for quick disposal of garbage dumps so dogs do not thrive on roadside piles of food waste.
He directed that a dedicated team be constituted within SMC to address the issue in mission mode not only in Srinagar but across Jammu and Kashmir. The chief minister emphasised increasing the number of trained dog catchers, scaling up sterilisation operations, and strengthening the availability of veterinary doctors and trained personnel.
The chief minister stressed that the response must be humane and follow established procedures.
He called for greater coordination among the Housing and Urban Development Department, Health and Medical Education Department, SMC and other concerned agencies to ensure that the measures adopted translate into measurable improvement on the ground.
