Stray dogs on the street, teenagers hooked on betting apps, the courts hitting the gavel to bring decorum, the government scrambling for leashes, and the opposition? It howls anyway.

Welcome to the grand circus, where foresight is rare, hindsight is abundant, and decisive action is always one headline too late.

I’ll admit my biases upfront. I’ve been a long-standing critic of online betting. Never once have I seen it as a “game of skill”. It is addiction wrapped in glitter and algorithms. Families have lost peace, kids have lost savings, and we continue to debate whether it was a game of skill or whether it can be considered a sport.

Yes, I’m a dog lover. A pet parent, too. Our family dog, Milo Kotnala, even finds his name printed on my daughter’s wedding card. But love aside, I can’t deny the problem strays have become in our cities. Packs roaming unchecked, attacks mounting, and emotions clashing. This is no longer about “feed or don’t feed”. It’s a public safety issue while we fail to recognise who has been creating this problem. Where are the vaccination and neutering programmes? How many are licensed pets? Why are the designer breeds and aggressive breeds being allowed to breed and be adopted?

So, I, too, have my POVs. They........

© Free Press Journal