Bhubaneswar, Sept. 24: After former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharati's pet Don, who made headlines after being caught in domestic crossfire, a group of stray dogs here in the corridors of power are giving politicians and bureaucrats sleepless nights.

Though it is almost impossible for anyone to gatecrash into the sprawling state secretariat, for the strays, it is a cakewalk.

The security was beefed up after July 4, when a youth entered the secretariat and attempted to attack an official with a knife.

The stray dogs, however, manage to sneak past the layers of security and comfortably loiter around the corridors of the building. One can even find them on the third floor that houses the office of the chief minister.

Not being able to tackle the situation, the general administration department has sought the help of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to free the secretariat of stray dogs.

In his letter to the BMC commissioner, special secretary of the administration department Debabrata Mallick said: "A number of stray dogs are freely roaming in the secretariat. These dogs are creating unhygienic atmosphere in the corridors, yards, roads, canteens and are causing problems for employees and visitors to roam around freely."

It is not the first time that the secretariat is facing such a problem. In March 25, 2012, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had to stop his interaction with mediapersons on the third floor for a while as a group of dogs were continuously barking. Chiding his officials, he had told them, "Ensure that these canines do not spoil the working environment in the secretariat."

He had instructed then home secretary not to depend on the BMC and initiate immediate steps to ensure the sanctity of the building.

"What impression will the visitors have when they encounter stray dogs in the secretariat?" Naveen had said.

The secretariat has five gates and each one is manned by gun-trotting police. "Should we run after these dogs? What can we do?" asked a police official.

Nearly 15 odd food stalls selling non-vegetarian food outside the complex attract hundreds of stray dogs to the complex. Besides, there are canteens inside the complex to cater to the needs of the 4,500 employees and visitors and other important offices located around the power hub.

What compounds the problem, a BMC official said, was the increase in the canine population in the recent past due to the failure of the corporation to properly implement the animal birth control programme.

When contacted, mayor Ananta Narayan Jena told The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi: "We have intensified the drive near the secretariat and other important places."