More than 65,000 incidents of dog bites have been reported in Pune city since 2022, and over one lakh canines were sterilised in the last two years, state Minister Uday Samant said on Friday.
The state industries minister was speaking in the legislative council on behalf of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who holds the urban development portfolio.
On Thursday, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe raised the issue of canine menace and the agencies dealing with it in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Samant said in 2022, Pune reported 16,569 cases of dog bites, followed by 22,945 in 2023 and 25,899 in 2024.
As many as 57,852 dogs were sterilised in 2023-24 and 56,511 in 2024-25, he said, calling for large-scale measures to tackle the menace of stray dogs, which is also witnessed in villages.
The minister said the Central government's laws, guidelines and judgements of the Supreme Court must be taken into consideration while dealing with population control measures for stray dogs.
The NCP's Idris Naikwadi, who is also a nominated member of the House, said the government undertakes sterilisation drives, but they need to be monitored and suggested that sterilised dogs be tagged for identification during the drive.
