Residents protesting the Niphad stray dog menace entered the Niphad Nagar Panchayat office in Nashik district with four to five puppies in sacks on 17 September, placing them on Chief Officer Dheeraj Bhamre’s desk and demanding action from the civic administration.
The protest was led by Vikram Randhave, district chief of the Yuva Sena, who alleged that the number of stray dogs in Niphad and surrounding areas had increased rapidly. He said children, senior citizens, women and motorists were facing difficulties and that several residents had been bitten.
According to the report, the protesters accused the Nagar Panchayat of ignoring repeated complaints and written applications about the issue. They also alleged corruption in the civic body and attempted to place a garland made of currency notes around Bhamre’s neck as a symbolic protest against the administration. Municipal employees stopped the attempt.
The demonstration led to a confrontation between employees and the Yuva Sena leader, including pushing and shoving, the report said. During the commotion, some of the puppies moved onto files kept on the officer’s desk and remained there until municipal staff removed them from the office.
The protest highlights the pressure faced by smaller urban local bodies in responding to complaints involving stray animals, public safety and neighbourhood sanitation. The report does not provide figures for the local stray-dog population, details of reported dog-bite cases, or information on any existing animal birth-control or vaccination programme in Niphad.
Municipal action on stray dogs generally involves coordination between the local civic body, veterinary services and animal-welfare authorities. However, the steps currently being followed in Niphad were not specified in the report. The allegations of corruption were made by the protesters and were not independently established in the supplied account.
Chief Officer Dheeraj Bhamre assured the protesters that measures would soon be taken to control the stray-dog problem. The report did not specify the nature of the proposed measures, their implementation timeline or whether the Nagar Panchayat has approved a formal action plan.
