This story in The Times of India reported on the two most significant
problems facing residents of Gandharvanagri, namely, roadside garbage and stray
dogs. The persistent garbage problem is mainly blamed on inadequate collection
but there is also a slight hint of recognition that residents’ behavior is
playing a role. The stray dog problem is blamed squarely on the inadequacies of
sterilization efforts.
Strangely, there is no indication in this report that anybody has made a
connection between the rubbish and the dogs. Experience elsewhere has shown a
clear link between the two as perfectly illustrated years ago in another Indian
city, Surat, where they successfully reduced the number of stray dogs but
failed to tackle the underlying problem of poor waste management. The result was
an exploding population of rats.
Wherever stray dog
populations reach the level where people perceive them to be a serious problem it
is likely that one of the best solutions is to improve waste management.
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