Stray dogs verdict, now a national debate

There are reported to be more than 1.5 lakh stray dogs in Chennai city (dogs without owners) and well over one million stray dogs loitering on the streets in villages, towns and cities in India. As the dogs give birth to four to five pups at a time, the population of stray dogs is increasing at an alarming rate. Several cases of children and passersby being bitten by stray dogs, which sometimes become fatal, have been reported. In such circumstances, concern has been expressed by people all over India, demanding that this problem should be solved once for all.

These stray dogs are not starving as they are being fed by genuine animal lovers or by those who expect to be blessed for this “charitable” act. The ground reality is that the stray dogs population has now become a national issue. I wonder whether stray dogs are allowed to roam freely on the streets and platforms in any other country or to such an extent as is happening in India.

The Supreme Court of India has taken up the issue and has given a verdict that stray dogs should be caught and housed in shelters and taken care of there by civic bodies. Animal lovers have opposed this verdict and staged a protest march and have appealed to the Supreme Court to reconsider this verdict. The court has agreed to review the decision and the last word is yet to be said on the matter.

Animal lovers seem to be of the view that housing dogs in shelters would amount to curbing their free movement and curtailing their liberty to live in the way they want. They argue that stray dogs are as much children of God as the humans are and humans have no particular right over the stray dogs. These are some of the academic views and the issue is now a subject of feverish discussion in India.

The ground reality is that the local administration all over the country has ignored this problem so far and has failed in its responsibility to protect the safety of citizens, who are sometimes wounded by the stray dogs. There are also traffic hazards with stray dogs criss-crossing on the roads and affecting public hygiene. The local administration in villages, towns and cities has allowed this problem to become an issue of monstrous proportions.

Next the question naturally arises as to whether the animal lovers who fight for the cause of stray dogs are really 100 per cent animal lovers! The fact is that several of these animal lovers are non-vegetarians who don’t mind the killing of goats, chicken, fish, cows, pig, deer, etc., and relish eating some of them. Their love for stray dogs seems very selective, and at best, they can be called as stray dog lovers!

In any case, the consensus view in the country appears to be that the stray dogs should not be harmed or killed but must be protected in a way that they would not become a public nuisance, as it is now.

While a large number of people want stray dogs to be removed from the streets, a suggestion doing the rounds is that why not animal lovers take the responsibility to take care of the stray dogs by adopting them as pet animals and keep them in their custody, thus removing their status as stray dogs! Interestingly, stray dog lovers do not seem to have reacted to this suggestion so far.

NS Venkataraman
Trustee, Nandini Voice For The Deprived
M 60/1, 4th Cross Street
Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090

Old symbols in the metropolis

It’s around 10 in the morning, rush hour on a weekday in this 21st century digital era. The metropolis is wide awake, people are taking their fast cars, bikes or trains or packed buses to give the last day of the week their best shot. Suddenly live notes of the nagaswaram reach my ears from the road two storeys below. I shout to the apartment’s watchman to call the keeper of the ‘boom-boom’ maadu (bull) as I scramble around for some money. Marimuthu is waiting at the gate holding a nagaswaram and a rope at the other end of which is the bull or ‘Nandi’ — the vehicle of Shiva! Conversing with him, I learned that the bull is believed to efface the malefic influence of planets on dwellings and their denizens. Marimuthu, who as a devotee of Vishnu sports a white and red namam on his forehead, is a harbinger of hope. When Marimuthu speaks to his bull, which has a prominent hump, it shakes its head this way and that making the bells it is decked with jingle. Its called boom-boom maadu because the bull understands and shakes its head when spoken to. In Telugu-accented Tamil, Marimuthu tells me he is from Tirunirai (near Minjur) which it seems is generic for a sacred town. While in my part of the city, he camps at Gangai­amman temple in Aynavaram. He took up this way of life even as a boy following the example of his grandfather and father. His son is however getting a formal education. Marimuthu and Perumal are at once an anachronism and an enduring cultural symbol. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in his place carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. ‘How long will the two hold up against faceless modernisation is the question?’

TK Srinivas Chari
srinivaschar@gmail.com

Refreshing timelessness

Madras Musings (June 16-30, 2025) made for delightful reading, even for a new and semi-senile subscriber in a rival city who may not identify with some of the Chennai-specific civic problems afflicting the inhabitants of the metropolis he left in the 1960s.

The most refreshing thing about Madras Musings,  apart from its humorous way of looking at things, is its timelessness. I read the latest issue at my leisure a week later and the articles you carried were still relevant, like the one by Varsha V on rising rental prices posing a challenge to affordable housing – bang goes the ­middle-class dream of saving enough to buy a house to live in post-retirement, I told myself.

What took my mind off the economic aches and pains of life in 2025 was your centrespread Tales from Tiruvottriyur (TVT), excerpted from “In Good Company – Tales from ITC Junction”. It was fascinating to read K Vaidyanath’s anecdotal snippet that when television arrived in Madras towards the end of 1976, the Assistant Financial Controller and the ex-officio Treasurer of the ITC Club in TVT was designated as the ‘TV in-charge’ just to ensure that the staff and their children did not encroach on the members’ viewing pleasure. But, then, boxwallah companies like ITC not only had/have separate office-toilets for executives and for staff but even dedicated towels on hooks for each officer.  However, within less than a decade of the advent of television in Chennai, retired railway employees like my late father had invested in a black and white TV set, on top of which they stuck the KBK graphic from Indian Express giving the dates and venues of Test matches so that they would not forget to watch the live telecasts of five-day international matches between India and the visiting team.

A late uncle would synchronise his daily retired life with that of the performers of telecast Test matches to such an extent that he would not only have drinks, lunch and tea with the cricketers but even perch a cap on his head during the afternoon session when the sun shone directly on the head of the players. By the way, whatever happened to the TV brands of the 1980s like Solidaire?

Thanks, Madras ­Musings, for reactivating all those memories.

Raghu Krishnan
krishraghu@gmail.com

Is redevelopment the only solution?

The recently introduced TN Apartment Act, and the rules thereon by the Tamil Nadu Government, heavily encourages redevelopment of old apartments. As a result, the Act is being seen as a bane by those owners who feel that even the apartments which can still withstand, are forced to toe the line of redevelopment.

I reside in a residential complex comprising many flats. The complex was built by a reputed builder about 30 years ago. Recently, a group of residents, in a bid to feel the pulse of the others, mooted the idea of going in for redevelopment. The group held a meeting and told the gathering that the complex can go in for a joint venture in view of the vast area on which it was built, and as a direct consequence thereof, the residents can get new flats, at no extra cost, as the builder will profit from adding a few more flats. Encouraged by the idea, the group held a poll where many residents recorded their ‘nod’ for the redevelopment, least realising that the complex is sturdy and can still withstand many storms.

Interestingly, it was revealed that following the request of an owner, a structural engineer was called to inspect the structure. He was of the opinion that if the building is maintained, it will survive for a minimum of 15 years!

To gain support from the owners for redevelopment, one of them sent out a message stating that if the complex is redeveloped, there will be no cause for worry for the next 35 years! The said owner does not seem to know that a complex cannot itself sustain without regular upkeep and maintenance.

The Act states that if the structure is in a dilapidated or ruinous condition or poses danger to the inhabitants, it can be demolished, paving the way for redevelopment. Quoting this, I sent a note to the group and sought to know its justification for the redevelopment. The move was immediately abandoned. I was told by one of the owners that many do not contribute towards repairs with the result that certain pending works remain unattended. It was because of this reason that the group was trying to go in for redevelopment. True, owing to wear and tear the building may have developed some problems and the inability of the residents to attend to the same as and when they surfaced, could have led them to spend more.

I do not understand the justification. Does it not amount to our allowing the building to decay itself by not undertaking even the bare minimum repairs? This is ridiculous to say the least. But this cannot be a ruse to demolish the building. Even if a building is pretty old, it does not mean that it is fit to face the axe. Olden day constructions are very different from the present ones. Stories of even new buildings falling apart due to various factors are in the news.

Though there is nothing wrong in going for redevelopment if the building is really weak and poses dangers, it cannot be said so in the case of many buildings which by age may be older, but can still serve. Irrespective of the age of the buildings, unless they are nurtured regularly, they become a liability, and, for this collective failure, the solution is not redevelopment. If a joint venture is not possible and the builder is engaged to only construct a new structure, where each owner has to pay money according to the present day rates, will they still consider redevelopment? Furthermore, just because of the paucity of parking space or any other issues, redevelopment is not the solution. When the cure becomes worse than the disease will the residents apportion the blame for the foolhardy decision of going in for redevelopment?

VS Jayaraman
ramvsj@gmail.com