ABC programme is all bite and no control: Legislators
Goa's Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme has completely failed to put a leash on the state's stray dog population, legislators told animal husbandry minister Nilkanth Halarnkar on Friday.
Speaking during the discussion on the demand for grants for the animal husbandry department, legislators warned that in the absence of serious action, stray dogs will continue to increase.
BJP legislators said the department's sterilisation programme needs a revamp. 'Dog attacks on children and tourists are increasing. There is an urgent need for a stray dog policy for Goa. Only when we have a policy will our efforts and this situation fall into place,' said Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar.
A child was attacked by stray dogs at Curti on Thursday, the second such incident in the same village within a week. The incident was the fifth case of a dog attacking a resident in the state in less than a fortnight. The minister has not given a satisfactory answer on stray dogs. Take the incident that happened at Ponda seriously,' said BJP lawmaker Nilesh Cabral.
They were not the only BJP MLAs to take on Halarnkar. 'The situation is getting worse day by day and I don't know what we are waiting for.
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Mass sterilisation has to be started as quickly as possible,' said Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar.
Despite MLAs across parties conveying the urgency to address the situation, Halarnkar offered no new strategy. 'The mandate to sterilise dogs is of the local bodies. To facilitate local bodies grant-in-aid up to Rs 9 lakh is provided for the cost of a vehicle, and the total cost of sterilisation, animal shelters, and other expenses,' said the minister.
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