Stray dog problem continues in city as citizens complain about dog bite instances despite rise in sterilisation
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Pune: Stray dog problem continues in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, with citizens complaining of dog bite cases despite municipal corporations' claims of an increase in sterilisation over the past few years.
Those commuting on city streets on bikes, especially at night, face significant dangers of being chased or attacked by stray dogs. Morning walkers and runners have also said that they are often the target of stray dogs. According to data from PMC and PCMC, dog bite cases went up in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, and Cantonment limits in the past few years. In PMC limits, the cases increased from 16,500 in 2022 to 25,800 in 2024, while in PCMC, dog bite cases jumped to 28,999 in 2024-25 from 13,892 cases in 2021-22.
Vikram Patil, a resident of Sinhagad Road, said he recently suffered injuries in his legs and hands after falling of his bike when some stray dogs chased him. There is a need to shift stray dogs to safer places, especially because their presence on streets is not safe, he said. Shweta Mahajan, a resident of Dhankawadi, questioned the effectiveness of animal birth control programmes as cases of dog bites are on the rise.
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A fresh order by the Supreme Court on shifting stray dogs from residential areas in Delhi can also be implemented in other cities, she said.
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Besides residential pockets, the commercial areas around Lohegaon airport have also reported presence of stray dogs in significant numbers, posing a challenge to the authorities. Efforts are underway to keep stray dogs away from the airport area and runway. A series of inspections were carried out in the last two months around the airport area, prompting concentrated efforts by PMC, the Airports Authority of India, and defence authorities to overcome the menace.
Several residents, including serving army officers and personnel from defence establishments, have expressed concern about the increasing number of stray dogs in and around the military and residential areas of the Pune Cantonment Board. The Dakshin Maharashtra and Goa Sub Area, which is the Local Military Authority (LMA), has recorded over 1,000 dog bite cases involving school children, family members of military personnel, and senior citizens in the last few months.
Tushar Mehendale, a resident of Shivajinagar, said that the civic administration needs to take up the issue on priority. The authorities, along with experts, should check if dog feeding in open areas or in public places was aggravating the issue of attacks by stray dogs. Dedicated shelters should be established to overcome the menace before the situation turns critical.
PMC officials said it had increased sterilisation from 13,148 in 2021-22 to 57,800 in 2023-24, while in PCMC, 3,300 cases of sterilisation were reported in 2024-25.
Officials from PMC said that sterilisation has led to a drop in the number of stray dogs. The administration has taken measures to control the stray dog population and their vaccination. Regarding the rise in dog bite cases, officials said that even a scratch by a stray dog is reported as a dog bite, hence the numbers are high.
In PCMC limits, between April and June 2025, 8,335 incidents of dog bites were reported. Activists and citizens attributed the surge partly to a slowdown in sterilisation after PCMC's contract with a private NGO expired in Dec last year.
With no dedicated staffers, sterilisation activities were stalled until July 2025. "Earlier this month, we appointed 16 contractual staffers, including dog catchers and two veterinary doctors, tasked with sterilising 20 dogs per day," a senior PCMC official said.
The civic body has also initiated the recruitment process for 15 additional staffers to raise the target to 40 sterilised dogs per day. Deputy municipal commissioner and head of PCMC's veterinary department, Sandeep Khot, said that under a special drive, over 16,000 dogs have been vaccinated against rabies in the past three years, and efforts are being scaled up.
Vitthal Baral, a resident of Yashone Infinitee Housing Society in Punawale, said the civic body and the state govt should enforce the Supreme Court's stray dog management guidelines issued for Delhi NCR, in Pimpri Chinchwad as well. "In and around our society, stray dogs are everywhere, and we are even afraid to let our children play outside. Just last month, a dog became aggressive after delivering puppies near our premises.
We have reported the matter to PCMC multiple times, but no one has come to address the problem," he said.
A citizens' group, Pune Platform for Collaborative Response (PPCR), has written to civic chief Naval Kishore Ram to initiate a city-wide programme to manage stray dogs more effectively by formulating and implementing a comprehensive stray dog control programme, aligned with established judicial guidelines.
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