'Delhi people are fed up of stray dogs': What CM Rekha Gupta said on Supreme Court order; says 'we want to provide relief'

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta says the stray dog menace has “assumed gigantic proportion” and has assured that the government will soon implement a policy in line with a Supreme Court order. On Monday, the court directed authorities to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR localities and place them in shelters, ruling that the animals should not be returned to the streets. The directions came during a suo motu case initiated on 28 July over incidents of dog bites leading to rabies in the capital.

Calling the situation “extremely grim”, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan warned of strict action against any person or organisation obstructing the removal of strays, saying contempt proceedings could follow. “Delhi people are fed up of stray dogs. We have been discussing on the issue. The Supreme Court’s directions are important. We want to provide relief to people. The problem (of stray dogs) has assumed gigantic proportion. We will form a policy and provide relief to people,” news agency PTI quoted Gupta as saying. The Delhi government has held several meetings on the matter, with minister Kapil Mishra last week saying that a “humane policy” would be introduced.