The Hindu : New Delhi News : MCD deplores Monday’s clash

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

MCD deplores Monday’s clash

Staff Reporter

“The incident is shameful and unfortunate”

“Councillors should indulge in constructive practices”
“Accusing each other serves no purpose”

NEW DELHI: The embarrassing clash and exchange of blows between municipal councillors from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Monday was the main subject of discussion at the MCD Standing Committee meeting here on Tuesday.

Responding to allegations from the Leader of the Opposition, J. K. Sharma, that Monday’s violence was caste-based and anti-Dalit, Standing Committee Deputy Chairman Yogender Chandolia said: “These accusations are baseless. I am a Dalit too. Your (Mr. Sharma’s) behaviour indicates that you want to disrupt proceedings on a regular basis.”

The Chairman of the Standing Committee, Vijender Gupta, said the incident was “shameful and unfortunate” and the whole country had witnessed it on television. “An amount of Rs.90,000 is spent on each meeting of the House and the councillors should utilise the opportunity to indulge in constructive practices. Pointing accusatory fingers at each other serves no purpose,” he said.

The issue of increasing stray dogs in the city was raised by several councillors. R.B.S. Tyagi, MCD Director of Veterinary Sciences, said Rs.2 crore had been sanctioned to catch and sterilise stray dogs from various localities. Nine non-government organisations that were working in conjunction with the civic body had estimated the number of stray dogs in Delhi at around 5 lakh.

“The Ahmedabad model of eliminating the stray dog menace has been very successful. This ‘CNVR’ system (Catch Neuter Vaccinate Release) should be implemented here as well,” he added.

According to Dr. Tyagi, the MCD does not have any veterinary hospital under its jurisdiction and is solely dependent on the facilities of the Delhi Government and NGOs for sterilisation of dogs. The Veterinary Department had planned 10 temporary field clinics to address this shortage.

Terming the stray dog issue “very important”, Mr. Vijender Gupta asked the Commissioner, Ashok Sharma, to send a party to Ahmedabad to observe their dog sterilisation programme. The Chairman directed the Deputy Commissioners to look into the relocation of 623 roadside vendors from Shastri Park in the Capital’s trans-Yamuna area.

Clearing the air about modernisation of the Ghazipur slaughterhouse, Commissioner Ashok Kumar said the Supreme Court had ordered that any funds released towards the modernisation process would first have to be passed by the Court.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi