Sanitation Workers End Strike; Panjab CM’s Stray Dog Theatrics Backfire

May

2026

The sanitation workers in Panjab called off their strike on 21 May after the talks between sanitation workers union representatives and Panjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema ended positively in Chandigarh. Cheema assured the employees of addressing their pending demands, which included regularization of services, release of pending salaries, filling of vacant posts, and implementation of welfare measures for sanitation workers. Cheema assured that appropriate action would be taken in a time-bound manner. The strike had led to the accumulation of garbage in residential colonies and marketplaces in several Panjab towns and cities. Meanwhile, responding to the Supreme Court of India’s (SCI) 19 May verdict on allowing euthanasia of rabid and dangerous dogs to curb the threat to human lives, on 21 May Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his government will launch a ‘massive campaign’ against stray and killer dogs which endanger the lives of people. Within minutes the post triggered a storm on the internet with #SavePunjabDogs and within an hour the hashtag became No. 1 trend globally. Animal lovers, activists, students and ordinary citizens not just flooded social media but also took to streets with protests erupting in many places. Maneka Gandhi, National Chairperson of People for Animals called CM Mann’s announcement a ‘wilful distortion’ of the SCI order. She said, ‘You cannot jump from Step 1 to Step 9 because it suits a political narrative. That is not governance. That is theatre.’ She pointed out that no dog can legally be euthanized unless three veterinarians certify in writing that it is rabid and that a healthy dog cannot be picked up and killed under any existing law. She said, ‘The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA) does not allow blanket killing of community animals. Period.’ Less than 24 hours after his incendiary tweet, CM Mann changed course. On May 22, he said the Panjab government would follow the SCI order ‘in letter and spirit,’ including humane care for animals, creation of dog shelters and euthanasia only as legally permitted under the PCA Act and Animal Birth Control Rules. With only one stray dog pound in the state in Ludhiana and no euthanasia policy for stray dogs in place, Panjab government tried to launch a massive drive against stray dogs that backfired (earlier coverage).