Who needs dog catchers? asks City Corporation

The fact that the dog catchers have not been given their salaries for the last three months also speaks loud how much ‘interested’ the Corporation is in ensuring the service of dog catchers. Two months ago, when the dog catchers demanded their salaries, they were told that they could leave if they wanted. However, the nine dog catchers refused to quit and have been working at the IP unit of Veterinary Hospital, Pettah, that too without any remuneration.

Even the latest promise by the Corporation at the Council meeting held the other day about ‘emergency measures’ against stray dogs is a blind bluff since the dog catching unit has been dormant for exactly one month and ten days. If there were 27 dog catchers in total at the beginning, now the number has come down to nine. Of these, only four or five turn up every day, while the rest look for other jobs, courtesy the City Corporation.

‘’What else can we do? We have to search for other jobs. We have got families to look after. You cannot live on without payment for three months,’’ says Jayan, a dog catcher.

Despite the continuous clamour of the city folk against stray dogs, the Corporation has always remained frustratingly insensitive to the grievances of dog catchers. ‘’We are yet to receive the increased payment of ` 75 per dog, which was earlier ` 50. The amount one gets at the end after sharing among nine is too insufficient. If we can’t be made permanent, can’t we at least be paid regularly?,’’ asks Suresh, another dog catcher.

Had the Corporation the least regard for the dog menace, the city would never have been found wanting for dog catchers. Expresso had earlier reported on how the dog catchers were to look after themselves whenever they got injured during their work. With the stray dog scare becoming the scourge for the city, things are likely to turn uglier as the remaining dog catchers too are seriously brooding about quitting. ‘’We have been working since 2006. All these years, we have never got paid regularly. Now we don’t even get our salaries. Why should we stay then?’’ the ask.

The City Corporation is bound to answer, for it is not just about dog catchers but a matter of safety of the city folk.