More than 1.28 lakh people in Mumbai were bitten by stray dogs in 2024, figures placed before the Maharashtra legislative council that have sharpened focus on public safety and the state’s stray animal control framework.

The data was shared by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde in a written reply to questions raised by MLCs Sunil Shinde, Vasant Khandelwal, Sandip Joshi and others.

The legislators flagged the rising number of free-roaming dogs within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits and flagged similar concerns from Nagpur.

According to the reply, Mumbai alone recorded 1,28,252 dog bite cases in 2024. Nagpur, Maharashtra’s second capital, reported 9,427 such incidents in the same period.

The figures add to a broader state-level trend: over 30 lakh dog bite cases have been reported across Maharashtra in the last six years, averaging around 1,369 incidents every day.

Shinde told the council that a BMC survey conducted through Humane Society International, in line with Animal Welfare Board rules, showed a marginal drop in the stray dog population in Mumbai, from 95,172 in 2014 to 90,757 in 2024.

The reduction, however, has not translated into fewer bite cases, a gap that lawmakers and civic authorities continue to grapple with.

Municipal bodies, Shinde said, are running programmes such as sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs, along with rabies eradication drives, to manage the population.

An independent online portal has also been launched to address citizen complaints linked to stray dogs.

The state is also identifying land parcels to set up shelters for aggressive and rabid dogs, a move officials say is aimed at reducing risk in residential areas.

Earlier this week, Shinde informed the legislative assembly that dog bite cases have risen in both rural and urban parts of Maharashtra. Between 2021 and 2023, as many as 30 people died due to rabies, adding urgency to the issue.