: Tuesday, February 17, 2026 10:52 PM
Bhopal. On the second day of the ongoing budget session in Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday, there was a serious discussion on the issue of increasing dog menace in the state capital Bhopal. This issue was raised by Congress MLA Atif Akil under the calling attention motion. He said that the increasing number of stray dogs and incidents of dog bites in Bhopal have become a matter of serious concern. Akil, who became the first-time MLA from Bhopal North Assembly constituency, alleged that Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) spent Rs 2 crore on sterilization and vaccination, but despite this the number of stray dogs is continuously increasing in the city.
He told the House that 40 to 50 stray dog bite cases are being reported every day in the city and most of them involve children and elderly people.
Akil said, “Bhopal Municipal Corporation is capturing many dogs every day and sterilizing and vaccinating them, but the problem of stray dogs is not showing any sign of decreasing. This problem is no longer limited to just fear or inconvenience, but it has become a serious public health and administrative failure.”
Responding to this, senior BJP leader and Urban Development Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kailash Vijayvargiya said that a dog squad has been formed in Bhopal Municipal Corporation, which takes immediate action as soon as the information is received.
Minister Vijayvargiya told the House that 26,900 dogs have been vaccinated in the current financial year and 5,023 anti-rabies vaccines are available.
He also denied that anyone died due to dog bite in Bhopal.
He said, “Dogs become furious when they are hungry and do not get food. Our tradition has been that the first roti is given to the cow and the last roti to the dog, and flour is also kept for the ants.”
During the discussion on this issue in the House, there was a mild altercation between Congress and BJP leaders, which created an atmosphere of laughter in the House.
Congress MLA Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat taunted that Kailash is a Vijayvargiya minister, but is not paying much attention to this issue.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Umakant Sharma said, “I have heard for the first time that dogs are terrorists.”
During the discussion, former Assembly Speaker Sitasaran Sharma and BJP MLA Shailendra Kumar Jain also raised the issue of shortage of anti-rabies injection and demanded to ensure its adequate availability.
Later, Congress MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Umang Singhar hit out at the BJP, saying the state government was not ready to discuss the deaths due to contaminated drinking water, but was debating the issue of dogs.
Singhar said, “Madhya Pradesh government is ready to discuss the issue of dogs, but not on the problem of contaminated water, which is a more serious issue. Congress wants a detailed discussion on the death of at least 35 people due to contaminated water in Bhagirathpura area of Indore. This clearly shows the seriousness of the BJP government.”
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Web Title-Madhya Pradesh Assembly Discusses Stray Dogs, Demands Debate on Indore Water Deaths
