=Principal Secretary, Health, Urban Administration and Development department, MK Raut on Friday directed all the municipal corporations, municipalities and Nagar Panchayats of the State to take necessary steps to control the menace of stray dogs.
The move follows the harrowing incident of a two-year-old girl getting mauled by street dogs in Raipur city a day earlier. He asked the municipal corporation commissioners and chief municipal officers to take immediate action by contacting local officers of Veterinary department for the sterilisation of such stray dogs. Action should be taken for the security of people from crazy dogs, he said.
Raut said it had been seen that owners of hotels and eatables carelessly throw waste in the nearby areas, because of which packs of stray dogs gathered on the roads. Therefore, strict directives should be issued to the owners of hotels and restaurants not to throw waste in the open places and proper arrangement for dustbins should be made. Similarly, strict instructions should be issued to the fish and meat sellers also. Better arrangements for cleanliness should be made in all cities, he added.
Raut asked officers of urban bodies to ensure regular arrangement of cleanliness of all residential areas, including business localities. Stray dogs gather at labour settlements and nearby areas also, hence efforts should be made to make people aware of cleanliness of their settlements and urban bodies should take initiatives for the cleanliness of the slums.
The Principal Secretary has issued directives to the Chief Medical and Health officers of all the districts, including the State capital, for storage of sufficient quantity of anti-rabies vaccine in all the hospitals. Arrangement for this could be made from the fund of Jeevandeep Societies. Attention should be given for cleanliness nearby government and private hospitals. He said that the owners of pet dogs should keep them under control and should administer anti-rabies vaccine to them from time to time.