After Delhi, Rajasthan court orders drive to remove stray dogs
What's the story
The Rajasthan High Court has ordered municipal bodies in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur to launch a special drive to remove stray dogs and other animals from city roads. The bench of Justices Kuldeep Mathur and Ravi Chirania emphasized that while the removal process should cause minimum harm to the animals, authorities are free to take action against any obstruction.
Public involvement
Public cooperation needed
The court also stressed the need for public cooperation in this drive. It asked municipal corporations to set up a dedicated telephone/mobile number or email ID for citizens to lodge complaints about stray animals. The bench further said that people who want to feed or take care of these animals should do so at shelters maintained by municipalities or private organizations. "They shall perform such activities at dog shelters and cattle ponds/Gaushalas maintained by municipalities or private individual/organization," it said.
Highway safety
NHAI, SHA directed to conduct regular patrols
The court also directed the National Highways Authority and State Highways Authority to conduct regular patrols for removing stray animals from highways. The order comes after the court took suo motu cognizance of rising dog bite incidents and increasing threats posed by stray animals on public roads across the desert state. The matter will be next heard on September 8.
Similar directives
Similar order by SC to Delhi authorities
The Rajasthan High Court's order comes on the same day the Supreme Court issued a similar directive for stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. The apex court had ordered authorities in Delhi to immediately start picking up stray dogs from all localities and shifting them to shelter homes. This order also applied to Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad. "If any individual or organization comes in the way of picking stray dogs...we will proceed to take action against any such resistance," the court added.