Shillong Municipal Board Unable To Find Solution To Stray Dog Menace

Staff Correspondent

Shillong: The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) is seemingly facing an uphill task in the matter of curtailing the menace of stray dogs in certain locations of the city due shortage of human resources and more particularly the absence of shelter homes for the seize ones.

Amidst the growing concern of a certain section of the people about the danger posed by the pack of stray dogs to the night pedestrians in parts of Mothphran, Police Bazaar and Laitumkhrah, the Meghalya Minister in charge of Urban development Hamlet Dohling conceded that there have been complaints and the SMB team has been acting in spite of the limited resources.

“However the main constraints are that the SMB does not have a shelter home for the stray dogs that were caught,” stated Dohling while alluding to the various laws and rules related to cruelty to animals.

Though Dohling refused to comments on how those dogs caught were being looked upon, another source said that those stray dogs caught by the SMB are usually released in Marten and its surrounding areas to ensure that they survived from the garbage that are collected from Shillong city. Marten is a dumping yard of waste located barely 10 kms from Shillong city.

“On most counts, these strayed canines used their instinct and intelligence only to return to their old bastion in a matter of days,” stated one of the dog catchers on condition of anonymity, an argument to which even the Minister nods his head. A committee constituted to look into the issue is being headed by the Deputy Commissioner and the secretary is a senior officer from the office of the State veretenary department.