CHENNAI: It’s a tough life for 75 dogcatchers working on contract basis with the Chennai corporation as they have to endure the elements, work long hours, and fight and conquer marauding strays with nothing but a butterfly net and a pole in hand.
Called ‘naai pidikaravan’ with contempt in Tamil, the lifelong stigma attached to their job is hard to shake off. Most of them are Dalits. This TNIE reporter spent a day with a team of dogcatchers in Saidapet area in Chennai recently.
After almost 30 minutes of searching, chasing, and grappling, the team got hold of three dogs --- only to lose the last one in minutes as the mongrel tore through the net to disappear. It was never found. The team of five used a butterfly net tied to the end of a long pole to catch the canines.
“We designed this contraption to save ourselves from being bitten by dogs. The strays have bitten and scratched us multiple times and we face injuries regularly,” a dogcatcher said. On a typical day, each team must catch at least five dogs, mostly based on public complaints, and take them to designated animal birth control centres. If they fail to meet their targets, they will be questioned by officials.
Their day would start at 7am and continue till 3pm. At times they have to work for 10 hours and during rainy days their job gets difficult. Despite long hours of work, many are forced to take up part-time jobs to make ends meet and feed their families.
Paltry pay, no insurance or sick leave for dogcatchers
Most of the dogcatchers working for more than 10 years get a consolidated pay of Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000 per month. They get an annual increment of Rs 14 to Rs 24 under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) scheme. The workers have been asking for a pay rise and social safety cover like health insurance, EPFO, and sick leave for long.
S Sundaram, a dogcatcher, says even if they have to take leave because of dog bite, they lose pay. “We have to take leave with loss of pay if the dog bites us at work. How is this fair? We have to sit at home for days to heal without pay,” he says.
“Sometimes, residents abuse and threaten us for catching street dogs without understanding that we are only doing our job. Once, I tried to file a complaint with police, but the cops refused to take up the case and insulted me,” said another dogcatcher. Some dogcatchers said they are not even allowed to sit on the front seat of the rusty, old dog vans next to the driver. We are always forced to travel alongside the catched dogs on the back of the trucks, they said.
According to the Tamil Nadu Department of Public Health (DPH), 18 people died of rabies in 2021 and 22 deaths have been recorded across the state till October this year. An official said on an average nearly 50,000 dog bites are being reported in TN every month. A corporation veterinary official said the workers come under NULM scheme and were being paid in accordance with the pay scale under the scheme.
“We don’t have a permanent employment option,” he said. “We are providing safety equipment. Though we have to cut their salary for leave, we do provide them with pay if they are injured. We haven’t received any complaints of bias. We will take action if there are any complaints,” he said.
Annual hike of Rs 14-Rs 24
Most of the dogcatchers working for more than 10 years get a pay of Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000 per month. They get an annual hike of Rs 14 to Rs 24 under NULM