Four kids under the age of five years were recently mauled by packs of stray dogs in Pattan and Sumbal areas. According to reports the injured children were moved to various hospitals, where from they were referred to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar for further treatment.
Such incidents keep on occurring from time to time in different areas. Six residents were injured at Nawa Kadal in Srinagar recently. An eight year old girl was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs at Waghama in Bijbehara in March this year. Seventeen persons were injured in stray dogs’ attacks in north Kashmir in the same month.
According to the reports the anti-rabies clinic in SMHS Hospital receives around 50 animal bite cases particularly from rabid dogs at an average daily. These incidents occur in different parts of Kashmir. There is no control over the increasing population of stray dogs. The increase in their population is leading to increase in the dog bite cases.
Srinagar city has a huge population of stray dogs in different areas. No effective measures are being taken to control this population. During night the pedestrian movement becomes difficult due to fear of dogs. Consequently, the residents have to take care moving out during night in such areas. The health experts strongly favour proactive measures to address the problem.
They advocate effective dog population control measures and robust mental health support for those affected. Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) must go for the sterilisation of dogs in an effective way. Otherwise there can be further increase of stray dog population and the movement of the residents will become difficult.
The residents should stop throwing the leftover food in their neighbourhood. The leftover food in streets attracts the stray dogs. Some decades back the SMC had started an exercise to poison the stray dogs. Large number of dogs died because of it. But this exercise was stopped due to the objections by animal rights activists.
They described it as cruel. They demanded other measures to control the population of dogs instead of poisoning. Subsequently, the dog sterilisation measures were started. But such steps are being taken at a small scale and irregularly proved inadequate.
That is why there is huge dog population in Srinagar city. The concerned authorities must seriously address this growing problem and take all necessary steps to solve it.