Agra battles stray dogs
January 22nd, 2012 - 4:17 pm ICT by IANSAgra, Jan 22 (IANS) After battling bovine and simian threats to tourists, authorities in the Taj Mahal city have declared war on stray dogs.
Dogs have bitten many tourists not only around the Taj Mahal, India’s biggest tourist draw, but also in the nearby Fatehpur Sikri complex.
“The stray dogs take leisurely stroll inside the Taj Mahal scaring away tourists. The CISF personnel do not seem bothered by their presence,” said Taj Ganj hotelier Sandip Arora.
Last year a bull on a rampage at the Eastern Gate of the Taj had to be shot dead by a police officer after it attacked tourists.
At Fatehpur Sikri, a female American tourist was bitten by a dog and was forced to cut short her visit to Agra.
Waking up to the public outcry, the Agra Nagar Nigam has now sent out its team to round up stray animals in the Taj Ganj area.
Rajiv Rathi, pollution control officer of the Municipal Corp, said: “Four stray dogs had been caught Saturday from the Taj Mahal area. More will be rounded up in the next few days.”
Corporation veterinarian B.S. Verma said the dogs would be kept at a shelter house.
But the Municipal corporation has failed to contain the monkey menace.
“Every few days there is a case of monkey bite. With thousands of monkeys in the city, it is a problem beyond the control of any municipal body,” says activist Shravan Kumar Singh.
- Anger, concern after dog bites at Fatehpuri Sikri (Lead) - Mar 24, 2011
- Mad dog bites foreign tourists at Fatehpur Sikri - Mar 24, 2011
- Chopper over Taj causes flutter, ASI files complaint - Dec 16, 2011
- Heavy rains lash Agra - Jul 28, 2011
- Heavy showers clean up Taj Mahal - Jun 09, 2011
- Special sight-seeing buses in Agra during CWG - Jul 04, 2010
- Taj on full moon night leaves visitors awestruck - Oct 13, 2011
- In Taj city, pavements taken over by vendors et al (Letter from Agra) - Jun 10, 2012
- Heat hits tourism in Agra (With Image) - May 28, 2012
- Chopper over Taj rings security alarm (Lead) - Dec 16, 2011
- Agra crackdown on buffaloes, washermen - Dec 16, 2011
- Heavy showers hit Taj city - Aug 21, 2012
- Taj city celebrates Eid peacefully despite alert - Aug 20, 2012
- Agra fogged out, records season's lowest - Dec 19, 2011
- Agra promises a better deal for tourists - Aug 07, 2011
Tags: american tourist, cisf, dogs dogs, fatehpur sikri, hotelier, monkey bite, monkeys, police officer, pollution control officer, public outcry, rajiv, rampage, rathi, sandip, stray animals, taj ganj, taj mahal, taj mahal city, taj mahal india, veterinarian