Stray dogs bite at least 20 commuters at Chennai Central in two months

Stray dogs bit at least 20 commuters at MGR Chennai Central in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, over a two-month period, leaving passengers vulnerable due to unstocked vaccines. Railway officials stated they received four to five complaints every week from the station, which handles at least one lakh passengers daily and hosts around 25 stray dogs. Victims faced additional hurdles when visiting the station’s emergency care unit, run by Apollo Hospitals, which lacked anti-rabies vaccine in stock and only provided tetanus shots before referring patients to Govt General Hospital. Railway officials stated that repeated complaints to Greater Chennai Corporation over the past two years failed to resolve the issue because corporation staff only sterilised and released the community dogs at the same locations. A railway official said, “Every week, at least four to five dog bites are reported, but many cases go unreported.” A senior medical officer warned that timely vaccination is necessary since rabies is fatal once symptoms appear. In Nov 2025, the Supreme Court ordered civic bodies to remove stray dogs from railway stations. Responding to the situation, Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner G S Sameeran stated that authorities would organise a special drive and relocate the community dogs.