Serious menace of dogs, monkeys in city due to non-disposal of garbage: Delhi HC
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the growing menace of stray dogs and monkeys in the national capital and said it stemmed from non-disposal of garbage by the municipal authorities.
The high court directed Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to place before it the statistics for the last three months on how many people have approached the facility every day for taking injections on account of being bitten by monkeys or dogs.
“It is a serious matter and it is a serious menace. It is all stemming from non-disposal of garbage by the municipal bodies in the city. Due to non-collection of garbage, all the food and waste are littered around. They are not realising it. Feeding of animals has to be done in a scientific manner.
“The MCD is not doing its job properly. If the MCD allows the whole city to be filled with garbage, what to do? If you stop feeding the animals, they will stop coming. The whole city is full of garbage,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed. The bench said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was not taking care of the garbage strewn all over and even the high court was not free from the monkey menace.
The high court’s observation came while hearing two PILs by NGO Nyaya Bhoomi and The Society for Public Cause raising the issue of growing number of attacks by stray dogs.
The high court also asked the MCD and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to file their status reports within two weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on September 30. It also asked the authorities to explain how they plan to take care of this menace.
“Feeding of animals has to be seen. It is not that anyone can feed animals anywhere,” the bench said. The NGO, Nyaya Bhoomi, said in its public interest litigation (PIL) that though these dogs generally lived in harmony with the citizens, there have been several recent instances of the mongrels brutally attacking people, including children, resulting in fatalities. “Their ever increasing numbers pose a threat to the well-being of the community,” the NGO said and added that its aim was to protect citizens from stray dogs whose bites can be fatal if not treated timely.
The plea said the population of street dogs was directly related to the amount of food and edible waste in an area and the dog population was very low in those that were clean.
