THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The controversy surrounding the dog shelter in Kuttichal is set to escalate, with the grama panchayat’s decision to approach the High Court on Monday over the facility allegedly operating without its consent landing Thiruvananthapuram corporation’s stray dog management programme in legal trouble.
Meanwhile, People for Animals (PFA) is gearing up to produce fresh evidence against the dog shelter before the court in an existing case scheduled to come up for hearing at the High Court on October 30.
Kuttichal panchayat president Radha Jayan said the decision to move court was taken after a meeting with Thiruvananthapuram mayor on Friday, which failed to yield any concrete assurance on relocating the dog shelter.
“We met the mayor yesterday and discussed relocating the shelter from the panchayat. He said it would explore the possibility of shifting the shelter if an alternative location could be found. We are not satisfied with the response. Since there is no concrete assurance, we are proceeding with legal action,” Radha Jayan told TNIE.
The panchayat’s objection is that the facility was established by allegedly misleading the local body without the mandatory consent.
Last week, the panchayat had served a seven-day notice to the operator, directing to relocate the shelter. The panchayat issued the licence to the operator for breeding 50 hybrid dogs, rather than for housing stray dogs captured from other places.
PFA member Sreedevi S Kartha said the organisation would present details of the shelter and the movement of dogs before a single bench of the High Court.
“Our case is coming up before a single bench on the 30th. Earlier, we had approached the court because the details of the shelter were not being disclosed. The situation has changed now, and we know where everything is. We will place all the details before the court,” Sreedevi said. On Saturday, PFA members and animal lovers staged a protest outside the corporation office, demanding answers from the civic body on the whereabouts of around 1,000 stray dogs allegedly caught for sterilisation.
The protesters alleged animal cruelty, corruption and illegalities in the handling of stray dogs and demanded accountability from the corporation.
According to an RTI response, the civic body has captured around 1,300 dogs, out of which only 301 are currently housed in shelters. The opposition at the corporation has also demanded the status of the remaining dogs.