Stray dog menace keeps people on tenterhooks

Yakutpura: Stray dogs are on prowl, literally, in the division. They have instilled a sense of fear among the residents of Rein Bazar division. As many as 200 dogs are roaming in the division, and an incident that occurred on Saturday scared the residents so badly that they are afraid to venture out of their homes.

The dog menace grips Rein Bazar division areas like SRT colony, Madina Colony, Sadat Nagar, Talabkatta, Railway station surrounding areas, Chowni and nearby areas like Moin Bagh and Edi Bazar.

On Saturday, in a horrifying incident in Talabkatta area, 2-3 dogs attacked an 8-year-old boy Khuddus Ali. They bit on his thigh badly. The dogs left the boy shocked and left only after the intervention of locals. After the incident, Khuddus was rushed to a super specialty veterinary hospital located in Narayanguda. According to Ali Amoodi, a resident who rushed the boy to the hospital, the dogs' teeth entered deep into the thigh.

After the treatment at the veterinary Hospital, Khuddus was shifted and admitted in Koranti Fever Hospital in Nallakunta. "Due to the negligence of GHMC Veterinary department, the population of dogs has increased in the areas and residents are facing problems and living in fear because of occurrence of such incidents," said Amoodi.

Once a week, responding to complaints, the dog squad catches around 8-10 dogs and after sterilisation releases them back in the same area after 4-5 days, complained Abdul Rahman, a social activist.

Rahman said that on his complaint more than 60 dogs were caught in the last three months, but these dogs were released again by the GHMC staff who claim that the dogs have been vaccinated and sterilized. However, the canine population continues to increase unabated, giving rise to such attack incidents, he added.

Also last year, the stray dogs attacked a boy fracturing his forearm for which he got operated in Osmania General Hospital. Even at Yakutpura Railway station, the commuters waiting at platforms are attacked by the dogs, said Rahman.

Speaking about the dog menace, the Deputy Circle Officer, Dr S Ashok Kumar, said, "As per guidelines by the Animal Welfare Board of India, killing stray dogs is banned in India under the Animals Act. Hence, they are caught and released in the same area after sterilising, vaccinating and deworming the dogs. If anyone finds unmarked dogs, they could register a complaint," he explained.