Greater Noida: Scuffle between society resident over shelter for stray dogs, police intervene

In order to settle a conflict between two resident groups, police were called to the society on Monday. The argument started over a temporary shelter built just outside the Arihant Ambar, a society in Greater Noida's sector 1. It accommodated a female dog and her puppies.

Some of the residents took down the shelter built for the dog and the puppies on Monday evening. According to TOI, people claim that the space is intended to serve as a playground for kids. After the shelter was taken down, a fight broke out between the two groups, and police were eventually called to settle the matter. And to resolve the scuffle between the two residents over the matter, the police were summoned.

Deepti Chhabra who set up the shelte, said, “There are a few strays living our society for years. Many residents of this society feed them daily. A couple of days ago, a female dog gave birth to five puppies. Since the mother and the puppies needed care, we had set up the temporary shelter, some 80 metres from the main gate,” TOI reported.

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The group who built the shelter claimed that before building up the strays' shelter, they obtained the necessary approval from the society's maintenance division. The developer's maintenance division oversees the society in the absence of a recognised residents' organisation.

Amit Gupta, a resident of the society, said, “Few dog lovers had illegally encroached upon some part of the society's greenbelt and created a shelter for stray dogs. We raised our voice and called the cops who had removed the temporary shelter. But the animal lovers are blaming us for the same.”

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The dog feeders of the society had asked to set up a temporary shelter on the green belt outside the gate to safeguard the puppies, according to Kaushik Singh, the society's maintenance in-charge. "We therefore advised them to keep the puppies in a portion of the green belt that serves as a kids' play area. But several neighbours resisted the change."

Police official said that after being informed, they did visit the society but made it clear that "stray dogs can be removed only by the development authority."