11 dogs poisoned to death in Kovai, crows too fall victim

Sources said the incident follows repeated pleas to the civic body officials by residents of Rajiv Gandhi Nagar and RK Road, falling under ward 45, to keep the stray dog menace under check.

The residents claimed that they feared the threat posed by the dogs, which frequently chased bike riders and even bit a few persons. They said a female dog had attacked a passer-by a few days ago after it assumed that he intended to cause harm to its pups.

Even as the residents bemoaned the lackadaisical attitude of officials, as many as 11 street dogs and a few crows were found dead in the neighbourhood on Sunday night. On receiving information, the corporation staff arrived and took away the carcass of the dogs in a garbage transportation vehicle.

When contacted, Lingam, a local resident and president of a traders’ body, alleged that the street dogs were not sterilised properly by agencies entrusted with the job due to low funds allotted by the government.

As dogs were not sterilised, their population has grown exponentially in the recent months causing innumerable trouble to residents, he said, adding that a few agitated residents might have mixed poison with food and left it for the dogs.

Lingam, however, said the residents had only wanted the officials to capture the dogs. “They don’t deserve to be killed in such a cruel way,” he said.