MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently issued notice to the commissioner of town panchayats, director of medical services and Madurai collector among others in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed to direct Paravai town panchayat officials to strictly enforce the licensing norms for raising dogs.
The litigant, N Senthil Kumar of AIBEA Nagar in Paravai, submitted that the residents in his area are plagued by stray dog menace. The residents' free movement has been curtailed as they are frequently attacked by stray dogs to the point that on a particular day, five dog bite incidents were reported in his locality, Kumar said.
He further cited an RTI reply he received from the Samayanallur government primary health centre which said nearly 2,245 dog bite cases were reported in the hospital in the last two years, out of which 663 cases pertained to Paravai town panchayat, with 30 of them being reported in the petitioner's locality. In spite of being made aware of the situation, the authorities have not taken action to curb the menace, Kumar alleged and sought direction to the authorities to take immediate action.
He further wanted the executive officer of the town panchayat to enforce licensing norms for raising dogs, which included periodical vaccination, and to take action against unlicensed possession and straying of dogs due to improper care.
A Bench of justices SS Sundar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy issued notice to the authorities concerned and directed the petitioner to add the Animal Welfare Board or Blue Cross Society as a party to the case. The matter was adjourned for two weeks.