SRINAGAR Former union minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Thursday said the dog menace in Srinagar will end in a year if sterilisation is done properly.

She was talking to reporters in Srinagar on the sidelines of an event “Let’s Co-exist” -- to celebrate the spirit of living and thriving on a shared planet.

"The man-dog conflict in the city will also end in a year if you start sterilisation in a proper, disciplined way,” she said, adding that sterilisation has not started yet in Srinagar.

Kashmir is witnessing a rise in dog bite cases. From April 1, 2022 till March 31, 2023 as many as 6,875 bite cases were reported to Anti-rabies clinic (ARC) run by Department of Community Medicine at Government Medical College associated SMHS Hospital, Srinagar.

The BJP Member of Parliament said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has set up a good sterilisation centre at Tengpora area of the city, and they are making another sterilisation centre at another place.

“So they (SMC) will have two such centres. Hopefully, they will do it then properly,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi said no complaints about dog menace were pouring in from Jammu.

“There was a sterilisation centre in Jammu, the result of which is that there are no complaints of dog menace from Jammu,” she said.
She said a Kashmiri living in the US, Professor Vasant Dhar, has donated an animal ambulance to Kashmir.

“This is the first animal ambulance in the whole state. ..It will make a big difference for animals on the road,” she added.
On the protesting wrestlers, she said she was sure that they would get justice in the end. (UNI)