A Russian tourist had to seek medical attention after she was bitten by a stray dog at Colva Beach recently, with locals stepping in to help her reach a doctor. The visitor, Zena, who is staying in Majorda and frequent ly spends time at Colva, suffered injuries to her finger and buttock. Zena, speaking to the media, showed her bandaged finger to the camera. Images of her injury when the incident happened were also shown to the media present as proof of the attack. She said she remains attached to Colva Beach but noted that visitors continue to struggle with two persistent issues: packs of stray dogs and a strong foul smell along certain stretches. She said the growing dog population has left many tourists feeling intimidated, and her own ordeal highlights the need for urgent action. Appealing to the government, she urged authorities to create proper dog shelters and adopt long-term measures to manage the stray population humanely, adding that in her opinion, the situation is now frightening many visitors who come to Colva for a peaceful day by the sea.
OVER 54,000 STRAYS STERILISED IN DELHI, 3 NEW SHELTERS PLANNED PTI, NEW DELHI: Amid concerns over stray dog management and public safety, the Munici pal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Friday said it plans to establish three new dog shelters, with works underway for one in Dwarka, while two more have been proposed at Bella Road and Bi jwasan, officials said. According to official data, the civic body has so far sterilised and immunised 54,623 stray dogs under the ongoing Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, who presented the civic body’s Rs 16,530.50-crore budget for 2026-27 on Friday, announced the plan for dog shelters during a post-budget me dia interaction. He said the Dwarka Sector-29 shelter is al ready under development, while the two other facilities at Bella Road and Bijwasan are in the planning stage
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For housing aggressive, ferocious and rabies-infected dogs, the civic body has identified a three-acre plot in Dwarka, where 1,000-1,500 dogs are expected to be ac commodated, an official said, adding that the two remain ing shelters will be developed in upcoming phases. Besides, the four cow shelters in the city are operating beyond their capacity, so additional cows cannot be shift ed there. The civic body is also planning to establish new cow shelters, the commissioner said. The measures come in the backdrop of repeated obser vations by the judiciary directing civic agencies to inten sify sterilisation and vaccination, and ensure proper shel ters for stray animals to strike a balance between public safety and animal welfare. The initiative also follows the Supreme Court’s recent scrutiny of stray dog management in Delhi. In August 2025, the top court had directed civic author ities to capture all stray dogs and confine them to shelters. However, around ten days later, the court modified its or der and allowed the release of sterilised and vaccinated dogs to their original territories. Meanwhile, the MCD on Tuesday also approved a policy introducing strict penalties on NGO-operated ABC centres if rabies cases or failed sterilisations are reported in their allotted zones. Besides stray dogs, the civic body has also impounded and sent 6,347 cattle to gaushalas, while 731 monkeys were caught and relocated to the AsolaBhati Mines Wild life Sanctuary, according to the “Important Achievements of MCD” data.
