HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday questioned GHMC officials why there were so many stray dogs wandering the streets despite their claims that the animals were being moved to shelters and sterilised. A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji was hearing a taken-up PIL following the horrific instance of a four-year-old kid being attacked and killed by stray dogs in Hyderabad in the last week of February.
During an earlier hearing, the court ordered the GHMC to submit details of the steps it had been taking to move the stray dogs. According to an affidavit submitted on Thursday by Katika Ravindhar Reddy, counsel for GHMC, shelter houses were prepared to relocate the animals. Ravindhar Reddy also informed the court that sterilisation was an ongoing process.
The court responded by asking how the dogs could be wandering the streets and how occurrences of mauling and biting could occur when the GHMC was operating in such a manner. “If any of you (GHMC personnel) have ever experienced dog bites,” the bench asked.
When Ravindhar Reddy informed the court that `8 lakh has been paid as compensation to the family of Pradeep, the four-year-old who was attacked by stray dogs in Amberpet, the court said that it was of little consolation to the grieving family.“Such situations should not occur in a civilised community,” the bench said.
Meanwhile, advocate Mamidi Venu Madhav filed an implead petition in the suo moto case, claiming that Animal Birth Control for stray dogs has been taking place since 1996, using sterilisation and other ways, and that millions of dollars have been spent on it.“Nevertheless, no beneficial outcomes have been noticed thus far,” the advocate said, accusing bureaucrats of swindling the money.
Venu Madhav brought to the attention of the court the fact that a two-year-old kid was mauled to death by stray dogs in April 2022. “Such occurrences occur only because the authorities appear to intervene, but fail to act,” the advocate said.
The court granted the implead motion and instructed the member-secretary of the Telangana State Legal Services Authority to visit the GHMC-managed stray dog shelter homes and submit a report by June 8.