Living with fear: An 80-year-old’s account of Chennai’s stray dog crisis

By N.S. Venkataraman* 

I am 80 years old, and one of the unfortunate residents of 4th Cross Street in Besant Nagar, Chennai.

4th Cross Street is a small stretch with five building blocks, of which three have been demolished and are now unoccupied. I have counted 11 stray dogs on this short street, with two additional pups seen in the last few days. In effect, the number of stray dogs nearly matches the number of residents.

Fearing for my safety because of possible dog bites—these dogs sit in the middle of the road and loiter throughout the day—I avoid going out of my residence whenever I can. Some of them even jump over the compound wall and enter the premises, which is frightening.

Most nights between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, the dogs bark in chorus, shattering the night’s silence with high-decibel noise that violates government norms. This leaves residents suffering from sleep deprivation.

The Supreme Court has recently expressed concern about the stray dog menace across the country, even noting that the large number of stray dogs in public places harms the country’s image.

While the Court has issued firm guidelines stating that stray dogs should be housed in specific areas and prevented from escaping, the Chennai Corporation still appears to be counting stray dogs (perhaps calculating their exact number!) and has yet to announce a clear plan on how it will catch and confine them, or how they will be fed once confined.

Public information suggests that the Corporation’s focus is currently on regulating and licensing pet dogs, and on vaccinating and sterilizing animals. These steps may help in the long term, but they will not resolve the stray dog issue in the short or medium term, nor will they reassure citizens who fear being bitten. It is unclear whether vaccinated and sterilized stray dogs are any less likely to attack passersby.

A question that inevitably arises is: why should the Supreme Court have to intervene in such a basic civic and administrative matter? That the Court must step in reflects poorly on the competence and commitment of civic authorities.

The Court has directed the removal of stray dogs from public places such as railway premises, educational institutions, and bus stops. But residential areas do not seem to have been explicitly included. Will the Chennai Corporation, while implementing the Court’s orders, overlook the stray dogs that continue to loiter in residential zones?

At this point, I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope that 4th Cross Street in Besant Nagar, where I live, will be free of stray dogs in my lifetime—though I have already crossed 80 years of age.

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*Trustee, Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai