Who let the dogs in?

By Yogesh Avasthi | Sep 3, 2016 (Ahmedabad Mirror) (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/ahmedabad/cover-story/Who-let-the-dogs-in/articleshow/53986325.cms

Nothing compares to their love and loyalty, but dogs romping in college classrooms is anything but therapeutic. At LD Engineering College, street dogs skittering in and out of classrooms make the teachers and the students cringe and causes much commotion during lectures. On Monday, Mirror saw dogs straying into a classroom, sniffing and snarling at the students of mechanical engineering. While it did disturb the class, the nervous professor somehow managed to take the lecture. The classrooms have entry and exit doors facing each other and the strays frequent these quite often.

Mirror also spotted canines seated inside the modern controller system lab in the electrical engineering department. Though there are a few animal lovers on campus who can been seen feeding the dogs rotis, these are largely a menace and could be carriers of zoonotic diseases, complain students. M C Chudasama, head of department, electrical engineering, said, "Yes, the matter has been brought to our notice.

The peon who feeds rotis to the dogs has been warned against it. We have also asked the guards to ensure the dogs don't enter the campus. We are taking all steps to ensure that the students and teachers are not inconvenienced in any manner." "The hallways are laden with dog poop when we come here to clean up the place every day. Since the rooms have several doors here, the strays walk in and out and dirty every nook and corner," said a safai worker. "The campus is infested with stray dogs. They tear plastic bags and papers and these are strewn everywhere on the campus. They also rummage through garbage bins, scattering wet waste and adding to the filth," he added.

'I WAS SHOCKED AT FIRST AND HAD TO CALL THE GUARDS'

A visiting lecturer told Mirror, "I am scared of dogs, but now manage to take lectures somehow. The first time I saw dogs in the classroom I was shocked and called the security guards. I realised it is no use because the dogs are so many in number. Besides, there are several entry and exit doors here." A postgraduate student told Mirror, "Dogs attending the lectures along with us has become a routine now. The canines shadow us everywhere and we are fed up of them. This is not how colleges function. I do not understand why dog menace is being taken so lightly."

NO OFFICIAL COMPLAINT

Principal of LD Engineering College GP Vadodaria pleaded ignorance about the matter. "The issue has not been brought to my notice. I find it difficult to believe that dogs trot inside classrooms. I have not received a single complaint."