… gone to the dogs
The ever increasing population of stray dogs in Kashmir Valley, particularly in Srinagar city is a great challenge the population here is face to face with. As the number of dog attacks cases is on the rise in Srinagar, with dozens of such cases being reported to the Anti Rabies Clinic at SMHS Hospital here on a daily basis, authorities have miserably failed to curb the dog menace in the capital city.Canine assaults have increased in rural areas as well, where vulnerable populations including the elderly and young children fall prey to stray dogs. On April 27, an elderly woman lost her life while seven others were injured after stray dogs attacked them in Munawarabad locality in Srinagar on April 27 and seven persons including two children were injured by stray dogs in Minzgam Boniyar area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir on May 03.
As poisoning of dogs was banned, the authorities were supposed to go for massive sterilization of dogs as the step was and is an animal friendly one and also an effective tool to keep the dog population under control. However, the concerned departments have failed to build the required infrastructure for the sterilization of stray dogs. For example, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) hasestablished sophisticated dog sterilization centers at Tengpora Bypass and Chatterhama areas of Srinagar. Only 210 dogs can be sterilized at a time at these centers and given the ever increasing population of stray dogs, it doesn’t help much.Though the issue is under the watch of High Court, the concerned authorities have even failed to implement the court orders. About a decade ago, ruling over a petition, the then Chief Justice F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla had ordered the government to build dog-ponds in the outskirts of the city to shift the stray dogs there. However, authorities failed to do so. In April 2015, the court directed the government to remove all the stray dogs from Srinagar by catching them and putting them in ponds, the government again failed to follow the court orders. The fact that the concerned authorities are not taking the issue seriously is evident when one sees how these authorities dealt with creation of dog ponds. Without proper application of mind the authorities started building a pond at Shuhama, which is a populated area. Locals of the area, as expected, took to streets objecting the project there. Since then, the government is yet to identify land to build dog ponds far from the populated areas.
Another failure of the concerned authorities responsible for increasing dog population and subsequent dog bites is the issue of waste management. In Srinagar and other major towns, the garbage is scattered haphazardly inviting armies of dogs thus risking the life and limb of people particularly children and women. The civic authorities should wake up and launch a massive sterilization campaign. Besides they should go for proper waste management and also identify places where dog ponds could be made. The government should ensure ample funding so that sterilization centres are established all over.
