Mohali, May 25 -- With civic issues taking precedence ahead of Tuesday's municipal corporation elections, residents of Mohali are increasingly flagging the stray animal menace as one of the city's urgent yet unresolved problems. From aggressive stray dogs making neighbourhood streets unsafe to roaming cattle posing accident risks on major roads and highways, citizens say repeated promises by the civic authorities have failed to translate into action. Official data now underlines the scale of the crisis, with dog-bite cases rising sharply year after year, turning what was once seen as a nuisance into a public safety and governance issue. Data from the civil surgeon office, Phase 6-the designated district facility maintaining dog-bite records-shows a steep and worrying rise in incidents. In the first four months of 2026 alone, 9,710 dog-bite cases were recorded, translating to an average of 81 cases every day. The figure suggests the district may surpass all previous annual records if the trend continues. Residents say the situation has grown from inconvenience into a public safety emergency. In New Chandigarh, elderly residents say even routine errands feel unsafe due to aggressive dog packs. Similar concerns have emerged from Phase 7, Zirakpur, Kharar, Aerocity, and older sectors where open layouts allow stray dogs to move freely between colonies. Particularly vulnerable groups include schoolchildren, senior citizens, sanitation workers, delivery riders, and two-wheeler commuters, who are often chased or attacked. According to Dr Sanjeev Kamboj, medical officer of health (MOH) with the Mohali Municipal Corporation, there are around 12,000 stray dogs in the city. On an average, 250 dogs are sterilised each month at the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre in Industrial Area Phase 1. "The facility caters to stray dogs within the municipal limits of Mohali. The target is 10 sterilisations a day and this has been done regularly since September 2023," he said. Ranjit Singh, inspector in the MC's sanitation wing, said the sterilisation contract has been extended for nine months. "The annual renewal of tenders often disrupts operations and affects continuity. Since the municipal limits were expanded following the delimitation exercise linked to the MC elections, a fresh tender will be floated shortly," he said. However, the Confederation of Greater Mohali Residents Welfare Associations, representing 65 residents welfare associations (RWAs), says repeated representations have yielded little action. A key grievance is the failure to establish a dedicated dog shelter despite land reportedly being earmarked by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in Sector 57 in 2019. Residents allege sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination drives are irregular, under-capacity, poorly monitored, or simply invisible on the ground. The issue has now gained national legal urgency. The Supreme Court, while hearing stray dog-related matters last week, said public safety cannot be compromised and directed authorities to act against stray dog threats in sensitive public spaces, while balancing animal welfare obligations. The court also addressed issues, such as designated feeding arrangements and civic responsibility in managing sterilisation and control mechanisms. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the state would implement the apex court's directions concerning stray dog management, saying public safety-particularly of children and senior citizens-must be ensured while remaining within legal animal welfare safeguards. But for Mohali residents, the pressing question remains: Why has local implementation lagged despite years of warnings? Courts in various jurisdictions have increasingly recognised state accountability in dog-bite cases, with compensation awarded where civic negligence is established. Yet such rulings appear to have had little practical deterrent effect in Mohali. Residents say enforcement mechanisms remain weak, complaint escalation and accountability are unclear. Animal welfare NGOs flagged that lack of awareness about compensation also leads to fewer people applying for it. While stray dogs dominate headlines, stray cattle have become an equally dangerous but less systematically addressed hazard. Across Airport Road, Zirakpur highways, Kharar-Landran road, and stretches connecting Dera Bassi, commuters frequently encounter cattle resting on carriageways, wandering across traffic lanes, or feeding near dividers. This creates serious accident risks, especially at night or during reduced visibility. The Supreme Court has also directed states and authorities to remove stray animals, including cattle, from highways and public roads in the interest of public safety. Residents say enforcement remains weak. Unlike dog control, cattle management also intersects with ownership accountability, illegal abandonment, inadequate gaushala capacity, and poor enforcement against owners who release unproductive animals. Kulwant Jaswal of Phase 7 believes that when the MC doesn't know the stray cow count, it cannot make proper policies. "There should be a cow audit to know which areas are affected and how many accidents it leads to in urban areas adjoining a village. It will not only help in creating a better city but also improve conditions for cows," he adds. Experts from animal-welfare NGOs and residents point to a combination of structural failures fuelling the crisis, including poor waste management as open garbage points provide easy food sources, helping stray dogs sustain and multiply. Patchy implementation leads to negligible impact. A high percentage of the breeding population must be sterilised consistently. With inadequate shelter infrastructure, civic bodies remain dependent on limited catch-and-release mechanisms. Fragmented jurisdiction is another loophole. Mohali district includes multiple civic bodies and coordination gaps allow the issue to shift geographically rather than being solved. Citizens frequently report delayed action after complaints, particularly where aggressive dog packs are involved. They complain that authorities rarely publish real-time sterilisation figures, vaccination coverage, or zone-wise complaint data....