Shiv Sena (UBT) Yuva Sena activists in India’s Nashik district, Maharashtra, staged an unusual protest over the nuisance caused by stray dogs. On Tuesday (September 15), they entered the office of Niphad Nagar Panchayat chief officer Dhiraj Bhamre and released a stray dog onto his desk. The protest was staged over allegations that the administration had failed to act despite a rising number of stray dogs in the area. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
The video shows Yuva Sena activists opening a sack and releasing a small dog onto the chief officer’s desk. Startled by the sudden move, Dhiraj Bhamre, who was seated at his desk, got up and stepped away, before later returning to his chair. Frightened after being trapped inside the sack, the dog ran to a corner of the office. A few seconds later, a second dog was released from the sack; it walked across the officer’s desk before settling in a corner.
During the protest, Yuva Sena leader Randhawe reminded the chief officer that he had repeatedly raised the stray dog problem with him over the past six months. He told NDTV that the number of stray dogs has increased in every village, street and alley, and claimed he had been informing the Niphad Nagar Panchayat chief officer about the issue for six months, asking him to resolve it. He also claimed a young child had already been bitten by a dog, and that many people, including women, had been chased by dogs.
Randhawe said the officer had been informed multiple times, with photographs of the situation on the ground and various supporting information, but that no action appeared to have been taken. As part of the protest, he said, he brought four dogs and released them on the officer’s desk. The Yuva Sena leader alleged that the chief officer, busy with various tender-related work, was not giving the stray dog problem due importance — which is why activists also brought a garland made of currency notes and placed it on his desk. Calling this a final warning, Randhawe said dogs would be released in the officer’s office again if no action is taken within the next eight days.