Amid concerns over stray dog menace across the country, residents of Tambaram, Chromepet and neighbouring areas are echoing such worries, saying the evenings don’t feel safe anymore.
Many elderly residents admit they would rather stay indoors than risk running into a pack of dogs after dusk.
An 86 year-old resident of Selaiyur said, “The dog menace has taken very serious proportions here. For us elderly people, even a simple evening walk after sunset has become risky because dog bites are becoming all too common. The Tambaram Corporation must fast-track its sterilisation drive.”
Over 46,000 stray dogs
Meanwhile, the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation (TCMC), which recently completed its first ever stray dog population survey (DogPop), has pegged the numbers at 46,286. Data from the survey show that Zone 4 (Perungulathur) has the highest number of stray dogs at 13,268, followed by Zone 5 (East Tambaram) with 10,699.
According to a senior official in the Public Health department, three Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres function in Tambaram at present. “The surgeries at our centres have gathered pace and we have also vaccinated around 30,000 dogs in four of the five zones so far. To identify vaccinated dogs, we use a natural plant-based powder as a colour marker,” the official said.
Govindarajan, founder-president of the United Federation of Residents Welfare Associations in Tambaram, noted that the ABC centre in Bharathipuram needs proper maintenance.
“We are not objecting to dog feeders but feeding cannot happen everywhere. The corporation should earmark proper places for it,” he said. “Children, women, joggers, the elderly, all of us are affected after sunset,” he added.
Published – October 05, 2025 05:28 am IST
