A stray dog attack in the capital that left a man with an injured eye will reignite questions about the effectiveness of the ABC program
Representative image | Photo credit: SURESHKUMAR C
A gruesome stray dog attack that left a 69-year-old man in the capital with serious injuries to his face and eyes has reignited fears of stray dog attacks among people in various parts of the city with a significant dog population on the streets. The company also found itself at loggerheads with opposition raising questions about the effectiveness of its ongoing Animal Birth Control (ABC) program.
On Friday, Chandran, a resident of Vettamukku, was heading to a shop near his home on Kattachal Road when a stray dog pounced on him. When he fell on the road, the dog repeatedly bit him in the face and injured his right eyelid and lips. A group of local residents who reached the spot chased away the stray dog and saved it from further injuries.
Mr. Chandran was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital here and an operation was performed. A local residents’ association has asked the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to take strong measures to control stray dogs as the area has witnessed dog attacks in recent months. Last week, a 26-year-old scientist died after he fell from the two-wheeler he was riding when a stray dog jumped in front of it near Thumba.
On Monday, the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) staged a protest outside the corporation’s head office in Palayam and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led corporation of not taking any concrete steps to tackle the menace of stray dogs. When the BJP assumed leadership earlier this year, Mayor VVRajesh announced a pilot project to tackle the problem of stray dogs in the city. As a first step, 50 dogs from different areas within the corporation were captured and sterilized.
However, a plan to shift stray dogs from the city to a panchayat-based dog shelter on the outskirts of the capital hit a roadblock due to protests by local residents who were against moving a large number of stray dogs to a densely populated area. The number of sterilizations has also not increased much in recent months.
Published – 08 June 2026 16:40 IST