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Kerala Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali voiced the state government’s concern in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday following reports of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi telling a
Corporation official to stop all dog-catching activities in Thiruvananthapuram. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi reportedly, on Saturday, personally called the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
Secretary-in-Charge M Nizarudeen, to immediately stop all dog-catching activities in the capital city. Public outrage peaked with the City Corporation being inundated with calls asking the
authorities to instead step up their efforts in curbing the increasing dog-menace. The state government deplored the Union Minister’s unwanted intrusion into state affairs, especially at a
time when around 90,000 people had reportedly sought medical treatment for dog bites in the last one year. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure
protection of human life. Maneka Gandhi had reportedly reiterated that even violent and rabies-affected dogs should not be slaughtered, in dire contravention of a Supreme Court directive.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V Prashant, however, said that all that Maneka Gandhi said was that the dog-menace should be curbed in accordance with the law. She requested that authorities should
not go overboard by thoughtless slaughtering of dogs, the Mayor said. He also added that steps were being taken by the Corporation authorities to hire the services of more veterinary
surgeons for sterilisation of stray dogs in keeping with the court order.