Despite SMC drive, stray dog menace on rise

Despite measures by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to curb the increasing dog-bite incidents, more than 10,000 cases have been reported in the city during the past two years.
In 2015, 4,700 dog-bite cases were reported in the city, an SMC official said. The number of cases is on decline but significantly high from 2014 when 5,700 such cases were recorded, said Javed Rather, chief veterinarian officer at the SMC.
Recently, a 12-year-old boy, Mudasir Ahmad Wangnoo, was mauled by canines and was hospitalised following grievous injuries in the neck, face and windpipe.
Meanwhile, the SMC has initiated strategies to curb the menace. It included collection of garbage, closure of garbage sheds and sterilisation programme for dogs. SMC employees went on door-to-door campaign to collect household waste, which is the main fodder for canines in the city.
“Out of 450 metric tonnes of garbage, 200 metric tonnes include non-veg waste material which increases breeding and life efficacy of dogs,” Rather said.
The SMC has also removed many garbage dumping sheds at various places in Srinagar. “We have closed around 200 garbage sheds because the areas close to these sheds registered the most dog-bite cases,” he said.
To minimise the canine bloodshed, dog sterilisation (birth control) programme was carried out by the SMC to stabilise the breeding efficiency of dogs in collaboration with the International Human Society, Animal Welfare Board of India and AH (SKAUST-K).
The SMC has started an Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre at Shuhama, Alastang. “We have 50 dog kennels and an operation theatre here and on an average, around 10 to 15 dogs are sterilised every day,” Rather said.
He said more centres needed to be established in the city so that at least more than 200 dogs could be sterilised.
Around 2,000 dogs out of the total population of 90,000 have been sterilised till now, the official said.