THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cabinet minister for local administration K T Jaleel on Monday announced that private agencies will also be empanelled by the government for the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for containing the stray dog menace in the state.
The decision was taken in the wake of the death of a fisherman at Pulluvil in the state capital, after he was mauled by a pack of strays on Sunday night. The family of the deceased—Josklin—would also be given adequate financial assistance, the minister said. Sterilisation of strays is the sole solution to the problem, he added.
Till now, the government has been empanelling only the Kudumbasree for the ABC programme.
The announcement came as reply to Kovalam MLA M Vincent, who raised the issue in the Assembly through a special submission and accused the government of failing to take effective action after a 65-year-old woman, Siluvamma, was mauled to death in the same area in October 2016.
"On October 22, 2016, the government announced that effective action would be taken to prevent a repetition of such incidents. If the promise had been kept, we could have Josklin," Vincent said.